


73 Days

by Atumun15



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Devil, Kidnapped, Lucifer - Freeform, M/M, Molestation, Rape, Self Harm, Seven Deadly Sins, Suicidal Thoughts, angel - Freeform, toxic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 12:15:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14618331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atumun15/pseuds/Atumun15
Summary: It took exactly 73 days for Seo Changbin to realize that Lee Felix had a soul of purity; a soul so innocent and gentle it could kill the darkest of beings.Which just so happened to be Changbin himself.





	73 Days

**Author's Note:**

> !!PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING!!
> 
> This story is heavy as fuck. Like it's bad in a lot of areas and I touch on a lot of subjects that could be considered triggering. So please, please, please if you feel like this might trigger you in anyway, do not read!
> 
> Thank you to everyone whose waited on this because I know it's been a long time coming and Thank you to Ren for editing this beast.

_**It took exactly 73 days for Seo Changbin to realize that Lee Felix had a soul of purity; a soul so innocent and gentle it could kill the darkest of beings.** _

 

_**Which just so happened to be Changbin himself.** _

  
  


Day 1 

 

Dirt ridden nails dug and clawed against the muddy ground of the school courtyard, gasps and choked sobs echoing into the empty air. His throat and lungs contracted underneath the heavy hands held against his neck as he began to squirm and fight the body holding him down. But the elder boy held no remorse for Lee Felix, a dark glint in his eyes that made the Australian believe that he was surely going to die today. And, well. Felix wasn’t too sure if he dreaded it or not. “P-please,” he choked out, tears streaming down his already blue cheeks, and he could have sworn the grip around his neck tightened the minute he spoke.

 

“What was that?” The boy hissed, his nails digging so deeply into Felix’s neck, blood streamed down the once smooth, now bruised skin. Felix’s vocal cords stopped working, his tongue puffing up and taking up more than half of his mouth as black dots filled his vision. This was it. After nearly 17 years of living in an absolute hell of a world, he was finally going to die in the courtyard of his academy by being choked to death by one of his peers. Probably not the most ideal way, but Felix wondered if he was supposed to be surprised that this had been the case. To be fair, he half expected to get beaten to death by his dad but this was maybe a little less painful, if not more ideal.

 

The world spun around him, and Felix’s eyes  closed gently as the last puff of air escaped his lungs, body giving out for only a second. But as close as death had been, it seemed the continuation of his life had been closer, and the hands were ripped away from his neck and air returned to his lungs. His chest rose and fell erratically, and he clutched the grass underneath him desperately in hopes of being swallowed up, especially when he heard the familiar voice of administration. If Felix was honest, he wished the guy had finished him off and made everything so much easier, for not only him but everyone else. But Felix’s luck ran out long ago and nothing was ever that easy. Felix was bound to suffer for the rest of his life and this was just another hope-ridden event.

 

He didn’t know if it was just his mind playing tricks on him or not, but he swore he saw a face hover above his for a few seconds before administration got to Felix. The person was handsome, a strong chin, sharp jawline, and fierce eyes. Felix had never seen this man before in his life, so he wondered if it had been a real person or some sort of hallucination his brain had created. However, the man disappeared into thin air when hands landed on Felix’s shoulders, the boy being hoisted up so he was bent at the waist. When he was met with the concerned expressions of Officer Jeon and Professor Min, the boy wanted nothing more than to fall back to the ground with a groan. “Can you see, kid? Are you light headed?” Professor Min interrogated, snapping his fingers in all different places to test Felix’s reaction time.

 

The boy nodded yes to both questions, seeing Officer Jeon approach him and lift him off of the ground, stabilizing Felix’s already weak and shaking body. Yeah, Officer Jeon was one strong man, but Felix was alarmingly light. “Let’s get you some food on the way to the headmaster’s, okay?” Felix nodded at the officer, his stomach rumbling on cue. Felix didn’t refuse to eat, but he didn’t have the money to buy the school lunches and his parents would rather him starve than give him actual food. Felix didn’t remember the last time he ate proper food, and just the idea of a damn pear at the time sounded amazing. When they reached the cafeteria, Professor Min came out with two pears and a bag of crisps, stuffing them into Felix’s hands, who just stared at the pear and his Professor weirdly for a second.

 

“I feel like this goes against every teacher rule in existence.”

 

It was rather amusing to see Professor Min’s eyes roll into the back of his head, but Felix didn’t laugh. He wasn’t quite there yet. “Mr. Lee, you almost just got choked to death. Now is not the time to be making jokes.” It hadn’t been that Felix forgot because he hadn’t, the event had been running over and over in his head. But the weight of it all suddenly hit him and Felix’s mind blanked for a bit. Felix had almost died. If he has squeezed for just a bit longer, Felix wouldn’t be here right now. Knowing his luck, he’d be rotting in hell already and everyone else could go about their days as if he never existed.

 

It wasn’t as if anybody actually cared for Felix. He was an accident, an unwanted baby and that hasn’t changed during the whole time he grew up. Felix was lucky to still be alive, if he were honest, because this wasn’t the first time he was on the brink of death. “Right. Sorry,” Felix muttered under his breath, bowing slightly. Both of his teachers let out huffs and let him eat, the boy devouring the food given to him so quickly that he felt like he was going to be sick. A groan erupted from his lips before he could stop himself and his steps swayed slightly when they approached the headmaster's office.

 

From past experiences, Felix knew that the headmaster truly wasn’t any help, and considering that the boy who decided to target Felix had been the headmaster’s son didn’t reassure him in the slightest. This meeting would be no different from the past ones, if not a little more aggressive. If Felix were honest, he wouldn’t be surprised if he were the one to get expelled rather than Yejun. “Mr. Kim. Can we speak?” Professor Min inquired from the doorway, Felix a few steps back practically pressed against Officer Jeon’s torso. The trio heard a grumble from inside the room and Professor Min turned back to them and waved them inside.

 

Felix cautiously shuffled inside. There, at the large slick desk in the middle of the room was his headmaster, Mr. Kim, surrounded by neatly piled papers and folders, seemingly untouched. No surprise there. “Sit down, Mr. Lee,” Mr. Kim gruffed out, eyes narrowed into thin slits as Felix gulped and lowered himself into one of the uncomfortable chairs sat in front of his desk. Professor Min and Officer Jeon hovered behind him like protective wings on his back. But while the wings were meaning to be protective, it only made Felix more nervous of what was to come from the meaning. “What can I do for you?”

 

Officer Jeon and Professor Min shared a look, ultimately deciding on who was to explain the situation. Professor Min was the first to speak up, “We found Yejun Kim on top of Mr. Lee in the courtyard, presumably choking him and nearly killing him based on the state we found him in.” Professor Min tried not to spit out the headmaster’s son’s name but it came off as aggressive and that was enough to have Mr. Kim’s eyes narrowed into thin, fiery slits. “As you can see, there are already bruises forming,” Felix flinched when Professor’s Min’s fingers came down and hovered over the pink and tinted purple marks lining the base of Felix’s throat. A huff escaped the depths of Mr. Kim’s lungs and filled the already tension filled room to the point that it was unbelievably unbearable.

 

“Let me speak to Mr. Lee alone.” Mr. Kim ordered, shooing the two administrators out of the room. Much like always, as quickly as the protective wings of another had been there, they were gone. Felix no longer had the little protection he had when Officer Jeon and Professor Min were forced to leave the room and let Felix and the headmaster talk on their own accord. As soon as the two were left alone, Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair with an eerily blank face that Felix was unfortunately familiar with. However, this time, there was something else to it, something far more scary and intimidating. “Here’s what we are going to do, Mr. Lee.”

 

Felix gulped audibly.

 

“We are going to forget this ever happened. No choking was taken place on school grounds and no charges will be filed. You’re lucky you’re still in this school, Mr. Lee. I should have expelled you long ago so you didn’t cause any more problems.” Mr. Kim stood up, coming around to sit on the edge of the desk where Felix was sat a foot away. A soft palm came down on Felix’s cheek harshly, creating a red handprint where once sickly pale skin had been. “But here you are. Still in my office causing more problems than I would care to deal with, hm?” Mr. Kim had a tone that Felix didn’t hear often, but it still sent shivers completely down his spine. It was cold, but eerily soft, as if he were patronizing Felix like a small child  _that wasn’t his_.

 

“I suggest you leave my campus, Mr. Lee and I suggest you never return,” Mr. Kim advised with a false smile, shooing Felix along and out of his perfect, pristine office. Felix didn’t hesitate, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as his bottom lip began to wobble and the pain in his cheek creating a dull throbbing pulse. Felix practically bolted past his professor and officer when he realized they were stood outside the main office having a rather intense conversation. They called out to him, trying to follow him out the front gate, but stopped when he had gotten too far away for them to catch up.

 

Felix didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have anywhere to go. _No one cared._

 

Felix had lost his sense of his purpose long ago, at the ripe age of 8 when his dad lost his temper and hit him for dropping a bowl that shattered. Felix didn’t think too much of it at the time, as his father told him it was a fitting punishment. But the hits began to become regular, more brutal as he began to get older. Felix couldn’t count on two hands how many times he came to near death, and not once did his parents or peers care; they acted as if nothing happened, and Felix would be naive and think it would never happen again, but received the rude awakening of gushing blood and aching limbs.

 

His mother merely sat on the sidelines, addicted to the intoxicating feeling alcohol gave her and ignoring the environment around her while smoking her lungs away. His parents never wanted him, they were teenagers in love when his mother got pregnant with him and ruined their perfect love story. His mother became addicted to sex, nicotine and alcohol when his dad began to have affairs with his secretaries and work more hours than he should (half of them not even sober) and Felix, the poor pure soul he was, received the backlash from his parents stupid mistakes.

 

The boy couldn’t walk around aimlessly; he knew he had to go home and face his mother, who was no doubt sitting in the kitchen with a cigarette between her fingers and a glass of bourbon on the table in front of her.

 

“You’re home early,” she muttered in boredom, never looking away from the magazine in her hands when Felix stepped into the kitchen to greet her. Felix gulped and nodded, knowing that if he spoke, he’d set her off. He began to back away from the door, going to head upstairs. “Aunt Jisoo is coming into town this week. She’ll be staying with us. You’re going to give her your room.” Felix didn’t argue. “Oh. And your father received a call from the headmaster, he didn’t sound too happy.”

 

In the back of his head, Felix began to scold himself for even going to speak to his mother. He didn’t want Aunt Jisoo to come stay with them and he surely didn’t want the antagonizing anticipation of when his father finally returned home. “Ok,” Felix croaked but his mother was quick to get up and grip him tightly by the hair, red nails digging into his scalp. “Ok,  _mother_ ,” Felix squeaked out before his mother could scold him. A satisfied hum left her lips and her finger’s untwined themselves from Felix’s knotted hair. She didn’t let him leave until she pressed the edge of her cigarette against the skin of his collar bone to the point where tears threatened to escape his eyes.

 

“Go to your room and don’t come out. Your father will come to you,” she hissed and shoved him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Felix felt his limbs tremble as he ventured up the stairs, walking down to his closet-like room at the end of the hallway. Felix’s bedroom was the smallest room in the house, the second smallest used as his mother’s closet. Even the bathroom was larger than Felix’s bedroom, but it’s not as if he could put up some sort of fight. This room was supposed to be his safe haven, a place for him to go when he was feeling lonely and depressed, but this room held more nightmares than any other place in the world.

 

His dad was sadistic enough to store his whips and paddles in Felix’s rooms, all used and coated with Felix’s dried blood. He even had a special pair of boots with studs and spikes on the toes that he wore when his father was so angry he couldn’t even form words. Those boots, Felix had decided, would be the objects used when Felix finally died at the hand of his father, his body already providing scars as proof. Before Felix could even process what had happened earlier that day, the door to his bedroom swung open and he flinched back on his bed.

 

For a split second, his eyes flickered to the window, seeing the sun was beginning to set before his attention was trained on his seething, red faced father. His white stained tie wasn’t properly done and his shirt had been sloppily tucked into his work pants and his suit jacket was nowhere to be found. Felix gulped when he realized his father hadn’t been wearing any shoes and made a beeline for the closet in the corner of the room where the boots were neatly tucked away. Felix’s father didn’t break eye contact with him once as he aggressively ripped his desk chair out from under his desk and plopped down in it, slipping on the boots with ease.

 

With every rub of the laces against the leather, Felix’s heart skipped another beat as he was unable to stabilize his breathing. “Stand up” He growled, Felix stumbling up from his bed and nearly falling to the floor. His father clicked his fingers and ordered him around as if Felix were a dog. “Here,” he demanded, and Felix didn’t hesitate to stand a foot away from his father where he ordered him to stand. “Cutting class? To smoke? I thought I taught you better than this!” With every word, his tone became louder and more aggressive, Felix instinctively shrinking back. “We.” Hit. “Do.” Hit. “Not.” Hit. “Accept.” Hit. “Drugs.” Hit. “In.” Hit. “This.” Hit. “Family.” Felix fell to the floor with a whimper, face bright red and blood gushing from his lip and cheeks from the lashes from his father’s rings.

 

Felix was met with the glimmering, bloody metal attached to his father’s boots, a sob wracking his bones. “Are you crying?” Felix frantically shook his head, whimpering when the metal came towards his face as his father stepped closer. He father knelt down so he was looking at his son. He gripped him harshly by the hair and forced his head up and off of the ground. “I did not raise a weak, stoner son. You are not a Lee,” his father spat before the peak of the beating came barreling towards Felix like a chain of bulls. The metal of the spikes first hit Felix in the stomach, but as the kicks became sloppy, they slowly traveled up and down his body.

 

Felix’s whole body ached when the spikes finally came towards his face, three kicks towards both his eyes, mouth, and jaw before Felix finally fell to the ground limply, blood spilling from his body and onto the dark carpet underneath. A huff, a heavenly huff, escaped his father’s lips and Felix knew that he was done for tonight. His father stepped over him and walked right out of the room, blood splattering onto the floor with every step. Felix’s mouth fell agape, eyes trained up at the ceiling as blood began to pool in the depths of his throat. Felix thought this was it. This was god finally deciding he had had enough torture and putting him out of his misery.

 

But as the black dots began to form in his vision, a familiar face hovered over his for the second time that day, and Felix swore he was lifted into the air before his body succumbed to the blackness around him.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Day 2 

 

Felix had never felt so disappointed when his eyes opened the afternoon after and he heard the screeching laughter of his aunt down stairs. Felix didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to live. What had been the point? No one loved him, he was molested and abused his entire life, and not one person would notice if he walked to the nearest bridge and jumped right off the railings. He was on the brink of death last night, he surely thought that would be the end of his suffering and knowing that it hadn’t, that some sick fuck up above decided that he was to suffer a bit longer, was enough to have him curling up in on himself and letting sobs rack his bones.

 

Soft, deafening knocks came at Felix’s door, the voice that still sent chills down Felix’s spine with a simple breath echoing off of the hallway walls. “Felix? I’m coming in.” No. No, no, no. Felix didn’t want this. She wasn’t supposed to be here. The door opened with a soft click, Felix meeting the sight of berry red lips and fair skin, two things that Felix learned to hate with every fiber of his being. Aunt Jisoo cooed when Felix whimpered and backed away from her, “Aw, Felix, I’m not gonna hurt you. I never do, do I?” She crawled towards him with a purr, situating herself on the bed and cornering him into the wall.

 

“A-Aunt Jisoo-”

 

A dark look passed over her already dark eyes, soft lips falling into that of a scowl and her fingers dug into his already bruised and aching thigh, no doubt drawing blood. “Now, Now. You know what I liked to be called by you, Felix?” It was more aggressive this time, startling Felix to the bones. Yes, Felix was scared of his father, but his Aunt was an entirely different story. She was manipulative; she did things she wasn’t supposed to in order to satisfy her own needs. But hey, Felix was a teenage boy, he was supposed to like things like this.

 

“S-sorry, Noona.”

 

But not when he didn’t give consent or when he’s a damn minor. Not when he was eight and she first touched him and told him not to tell anyone. Not when he was fourteen and he was forced to touch her back or else she’d kill him. Not when he was sixteen and was pinned down to the bed, screaming and wailing for her to stop. Not  _now_ , when he was seventeen and being molested by his 32 year old aunt.

 

It was a pity really. Lee Felix had such a pure and innocent soul and it was being torn away from him in the form of beatings and the harsh massages of fingers. He wondered if it was worth it. He wondered if his parents heard his aunt’s high pitched moans and didn’t think twice. He wondered if his neighbors heard his screams from the beatings and debated calling the police but never going through with it. He wondered if his peers saw him getting bullied and wanted to stop it but didn’t for the sake of their own reputation.

 

And when his aunt got off of him and stumbled downstairs, not even bothering to put her underwear back on, Felix decided that… No. It hadn’t been worth it.

 

It would never be worth it.

 

Felix ignored the hushed whispers from down stairs and his aching limbs as he didn’t even bother changing his clothes. He wanted people to see that school symbol on his body when they found him drenched and lifeless in the river. So he opened his window and climbed out of his room and onto the tree conveniently placed right outside his window. Maybe something could go right for once.

 

Until he slipped and fell onto the hard ground beneath him. Everything ached so much that Felix thought he broke a few bones in his body that hadn’t already been broken. And he had. The poor boy couldn’t move his elbow at all and a whimper escaped his lips every time he breathed. However, he couldn’t stay here. His parents and aunt no doubt heard his screech when he fell from the window and would come out running after him so he wouldn’t spill anything. The idea of that alone was enough motivation to get Felix up, and the sound of the front door opening had Felix’s legs kick starting in the opposite direction.

 

Unfortunately for him, Felix ended up running straight into the forest, the branches snapping against his skin as heavy pants escaped his swollen, busted lips. He made it to a clearing, right by the cliff side near the coast line and was met with the deafening sound of silence. Felix fell to his knees and landed right in the middle of the clearing, dirting his already blood stained school uniform. Rain began to softly fall from the cloud covered sky as Felix shivered on the ground, curling up in on himself as tears began to leek from his eyes.

 

Felix didn’t know this, but a figure watched from the bushes, golden orbs trained on the mortal’s glowing, shivering figure with not only interest but anticipation. The figure watched Felix slowly crawl towards the cliff side, slinging his legs off of the edge and sitting down as he looked over the wide, open ocean in front of him.

 

There, as he listened to the quiet of the environment around him, Felix realized just how lonely he was. There wasn’t a soul out there that dedicated themselves even a little bit to him and Felix… Felix was okay with that. He wasn’t meant to be around others. He wasn’t meant to be loved. He wasn’t meant to be cared for. And he knew this because this was the end. He eyed the rushing waters beneath him, the echoes and whispers drifting up and tempting Felix down to the inviting waters they were sourced from.

 

A snapping of a branch came from behind him and Felix didn’t even flinch.

 

“Came to finish me off?” Felix’s voice was empty when he spoke, not even looking back at the figure behind him. “Just do it already.” His voice cracked this time, the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut squeezed tight as to not look at his future killer. But when nothing came, no blow except for the gentle breaths against the back of his neck, Felix lost it. “DO IT!” Tears gushed from his eyes, the breaths fading along with the presence that was once beside him. When Felix turned and saw no one there, he broke down into sobs and laid there on the edge of the cliff, never inching forward. Never inching forward to fall to his waiting death.

 

And the gold eyes from the dark of the forest watched in satisfaction.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Day 6 

  


Quiet whispers echoed off of the valley walls, Felix’s head whirling around in his own mind when in reality, it was rested against the rough texture of the outside walls of the club and wasn’t shifting in the slightest. Felix never went back to school. Hell, he never went back home either. He wandered aimlessly, no longer intaking any sort of food or drink unless found or given and just letting his body give out so he didn’t have to suffer more. It was a miracle he was taking as long as it had but when this man in a hoodie offered him some ‘mind blowing’ drugs, Felix took it without question.

 

He was willing to do anything to end this painful suffering.

 

But as the whispers began to fade into the beat of the music from inside, and the dizziness in Felix’s head faded with it, tears began to leak. Felix was coming down from the high and was being thrown back into the harsh reality that was his life. Felix didn’t bother to wipe away the tears spilling down his cheeks, there was no point. His uniform was ripped and stained with blood, grease, dirt and some sort of other substance he wasn’t sure of, so his tears would make no difference. But as he laid his back against the wall of the club, he began to pray for something to become worth it.

 

The ironic part in all this had been the idea of thinking there was a god above. That there was someone else who could make Felix’s life better that wasn’t himself. But Felix couldn’t fix this himself, he was too beaten down, nearly 6 feet underground and it felt like he was never going to be able to get back up. He just didn’t deem it possible. “Hey… hey kid.” Felix didn’t even glance in the old man’s direction, but the man must have saw the twitch of Felix’s body because he kept talking, “You want some more?” This had been the same man who gave him the strong drug from before.

 

Felix couldn’t even nod his head, letting his eyes flicker open and shut before straightening up and slinging his arm out with the little energy he had left. The old man shuffled over, the musty smell of smoke and sweat filling Felix’s nostrils. He gripped Felix’s wrist tightly with the yellow of his fingertips and flipped over his arm so he could reach Felix’s already purple veins. Felix didn’t fight or flinch back when the needle pressed into his joints and a thick serum filled his bloodstream, nor did he fight the bliss that washed over him and the lightness in his head. Felix succumbed to the drug infecting his system and let a blissful smile spread over his lips.

 

Unfortunately, the drug didn’t give him the power to stand up and face the world when it felt like everything was going to be okay. No, it only caused him to sink further into the wall until he was flat on his back and staring up at the star filled sky. Right in the middle of what would usually be clouds, was an opening. And in that opening were stars. But they weren’t normal stars. These seemed to twinkle more, having a vibrance to them that other stars wouldn’t have. Felix stared at them a bit longer, squinting his eyes, and a thought passed through his head but never fully settled into the darkness of his mind; ‘those stars are red.’

 

No one knows if it was real and Felix was the only one to notice, or if it was the dark forces around him playing tricks on his mind, but all Felix saw was the color of red in the blackness of the night, and oddly, it soothed him. Maybe it was the idea of something being different from normal, or the throbbing in his veins from the bliss in his head; Felix didn’t know. All he knew was that he liked the sight of those stars and was incredibly angry when a face interrupted the peaceful view Felix had been graced with.

 

It had been the same face from before: strong chin, pouted lips, golden eyes, and glittering skin. What was supposed to be fear coursed through Felix’s veins but his fear came out in nervous giggles and slurred speech. “Hey~ man, you want to try some of this?” Felix grabbed for the empty syringe on the ground and lifted it up towards his face, the needle glittering but seemingly dull in front of the figures skin. The almost ethereal man hovered above him, staring at Felix with a dangerous glint in his eye before flickering his eyes to the left, the needle flying out of the younger’s hands and hitting the wall with so much force, the plastic shattered.

 

Felix gawked at the broken pieces for a moment, temple resting against the wet concrete beneath him. Felix should have freaked out, maybe even passed out, but the boy merely giggled and clapped like a small child before rolling over onto his side to face the broken syringe. The figure above watched blankly, tilting his head to the side a little when Felix’s smile begin to fall into that of a pout, eyes blinking slowly and staring blankly ahead. Emotions passed by untruly, flickering in and out of Felix’s head only to be replaced by the heavy feeling in his chest.

 

The drugs didn’t seem to work this time.

 

Felix shrunk in on himself, forgetting about the hovering figure completely and trembling aggressively on the ground. His fingertips gripped at the concrete, nails scratching and drawing blood from the raw skin underneath. Maybe if he scratched enough, the blood would come flowing. Maybe if there was enough blood, he could slowly bleed out on the ground and lose the last bit of it he had left. However, a thought ran across his head and the anger set in. Why did nothing work for him?

 

It’s like his body completely forgot how weak he was and did before he could think. Felix was up and off of the ground in a few moments and brushed past the figure without another thought his way, stumbling down the street. Felix heard the following footsteps and felt the intensity of the eyes on his back, but his brain didn’t process that someone was following him, much less the same figure from before. People disregarded him completely; there was no room in their clouded heads for the suicidal school boy who looked as if he was dug up from his own grave, stumbling haphazardly down the streets and towards the nearby bridge.

 

The moment Felix stepped one foot onto the elevated bridge, everything around him felt different. There wasn’t a soul in sight and the already cool air seemed to become frigid. The eyes of another were no longer staring at him, and Felix felt as though he was alone. Even if there was an itch that was telling him he hadn’t been. The red stars from before became blue and the clouds separated to shine an evening glow on the water below. Felix took three steps towards the railing and gripped the icy metal tightly.

 

The weakness began to slip back into his body when Felix began to climb over the railing, leaning his back against the metal as half of his feet hung off of the edge. Felix had briefly spoken to those who stepped away from the bridge; they explained that this chilling fear settled in their stomachs and when they briefly stepped off, they back tracked and realized that they had something here.  _That they couldn’t do it and fixed themselves._

 

But for Felix… Yes, a feeling settled into the pit of his stomach, but it hadn’t been fear, and yes, the goosebumps rose on his skin, but it wasn’t out of of any sort of realization. No. The waters below called out to Felix, drawing him closer and closer until his feet slipped off the edge. And as he looked up at the starry sky above and felt the wind rushed past him, a weak smile spread over his lips and a feeling of contentment fluttered in his heart. His eyes closed and he welcomed the sweet release the water would give him...

 

But it never came.

 

His body stopped, hovering in mid air as the heels of his shoes and tips of his uniforms dipped gently in the water, causing ripples in the calm surface. A sob racked through Felix as he stared up at the sky, the stars turning back to red, screaming ‘you failed’ in his face. But the wind began to move around him again and Felix realized he was moving, and a panic set in. What the fuck was happening?

 

His uniform created ripple trails in the water as his body levitated over it, nearing the coastline of the river. There, standing at the edge with his arms crossed over his chest, was the same man from all the other times and anger began to simmer in Felix’s blood. He was always there when Felix should be  _dead_ .  _This was this weird man’s fault._  However, he didn’t exactly have the nerve to be angry when he saw how fiery the man’s eyes were. And well, how he was obviously controlling the movement of Felix’s body when he flickered his eyes up and only Felix’s feet were hovering above the water afterwards.

 

“Now… Who said you could do that, hm?” Felix’s breath caught in his throat, eyes blown wide with a certain fear at just the mere sound of this man’s voice. His tone was raspy, but not as deep as Felix’s. However, there was a certain echo to it, a shift in the way he spoke that a human didn’t have. This man was something bigger than a human, something far more powerful. Felix gawked, mouth opening and closing even though no sounds escapedn. The figure rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, Felix jerking forward until his face was two inches away from the others.

 

The same fingers that controlled Felix’s every movement came up to cup the paleness of his chin, Felix taking note of the black dusting on the figure’s finger tips. “You just love to cause me problems don’t you? Trying to escape your suffering without seeing what could come out of it?” His words seemed as though he was trying to save Felix so the mortal could be happy, but there was an evil bite to them that told Felix otherwise. The figure cackled, exposing his split tongue and sharp fangs. The cold fingers left Felix’s chin and instead pressed against his forehead. “No more.”

 

The last thing Felix saw was gold turning to red before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his back hit the water, sinking down to the bottom.

  


\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Day 13 

 

When Felix flickered open his eyes, he wasn’t sure if they were even open. He was in a dark room, unable to see anything around him. It felt like he was on a ground made of concrete, with metal shackles around his wrist and that rubbed uncomfortably against the skin there. Felix tried squinting his eyes in hopes of making anything out in the darkness, but alas, nothing showed through. The boy shrunk in on himself, a whimper escaping his lips as he realized that he was alone.

 

Yes, the boy had always been alone, but there hadn’t been a living being anywhere near him and there was no hard telling what sized room Felix had been in. He wanted to reach out and feel for anything that could possibly be around him, but due to his shackled hands, that was harder than he gave himself credit for. He probably could have gotten up and walked around too, but there was no hard telling where he might end up and he could potentially headbutt a wall if he ventured too far, so he stayed put.

 

However, the whispers licking at the shell of his ears were hard to ignore. They hadn’t been from an outside voices; rather, they were the ones in his head telling him over and over again that he wasn’t worth it. That this was his punishment for merely existing. That him being stuck in some strange dark room that smelled of death and frozen like the antarctic was his final stage in life, and that he was to stay in that room far longer than he’s been alive. This was his fate. And there was nothing that could change that.

 

The next few events only seemed to prove his theory further. Felix jumped, pulling on the cold rusty metal of his shackles when a loud, ear piercing scream rung out. It hadn’t been from the room, but it sounded as though it had just been above. Tears began to leak out of Felix’s eyes as whimpers and sobs began to leak from his mouth, fast and hard. Felix had craved the idea of death since he was eight years old, and now, ten years later, he feared it.

 

Felix knew he deserved a long, slow, and painful death, but as an unknown substance began to drip from the ceiling above and land on Felix’s head and face, he realized he didn’t want this. Felix wanted to design his own fate, take his own life. He didn’t want someone else to take it; that would completely end the one thing he had control over in his life. Felix waited for what felt like hours, wondering if he would have the same fate of those around him. As the screams of more and more victims grew so close that the next scream had been in the room behind him, Felix surely thought that that had been the end.

 

But his door never swung open. He heard a scream to his right and his heart dropped. Was he disappointed that he had to stay here a bit longer? Yeah. But at the same time, he had been relieved that he wasn’t going to get tortured to death at that moment, even if his fate was merely delayed by a few hours. With every passing, fading scream, Felix whimpers seemed to grow, his fresh hot tears never halting. When he thought it was over, a door swung open from behind him and allowed a warm light to bask on his shoulders and spine.

 

Despite the sudden heat, Felix tensed up and didn’t move an inch. He could feel and hear the figure moving closer, squatting down to Felix’s height. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at full attention, quivering underneath the cold breaths of the figure behind him. “You’re scared of me. I can feel your fear from  _miles_  away.” It had been the same man from before, his voice having that soft, natural echo to it that sent chills all the way down to Felix’s toes. The figure chuckled lowly when a whimper fell from Felix’s lips after he ran his finger tips along the nape of Felix’s neck.

 

Something cold and wet was pressed against the skin behind Felix’s ears, the boy feeling the slight tickle of hair against his neck and shoulder and finally, he broke back down into sobs. The figure cupped the right side of Felix’s neck, finger tips grazing at Felix’s adams apple, and his other hand game around his left shoulder. The man behind him nuzzled his face into the back of Felix’s neck, a growing smirk residing on his lips as Felix’s increasing fear and suffering fed the pits of his heart and blood.

 

Felix didn’t want this. He wanted physical touch yes, but not like this. Not from a man that took him away and locked him in a dark room. However, Felix realized that his crying was feeding this…  _monster_ behind him and quickly tried to contain himself, straightening his shoulders and sniffling grossily. The figure laughed deeply, something far more powerful and inhuman among it. Suddenly, he was away from Felix’s back and Felix was thrown up in the air, legs outstretched and arms twisted painfully behind him from the shackles attached to the ground and facing where the light had been coming from.  

 

The figure was stood on the ground in front of him, the gold eyes and sharp chin the only thing Felix being able to properly make out from the man’s shadowed figure. Bloodied fingers came up to cup Felix’s chin much like they had with their first official encounter. “You’re going to be fun, angel,” the man hushed, pressing a bitter kiss to Felix’s jawline before snapping his fingers and letting Felix fall limp to the ground, eyes snapped shut and breathing stable. The figure left after placing something in the corner of the room, shutting the door and allowing Felix to be engulfed in the same darkness from before.

 

Day 15 

 

Felix had been lying down on the cold concrete for far longer than he wished to be. His back and bottom were crying and aching but he couldn’t move. His body had become too weak. Felix’s stomach was begging and crying for some sort of food, but he wasn’t sure if it would ever receive such a thing. Surely, he would be given food at some point. This figure had kept him around for a reason, and it wasn’t likely that he would just let Felix die like that. But at that point, Felix wasn’t too sure of anything at this point.

 

Whoever this man was… he wasn’t human. The way he spoke and the shine to his eyes was something that could not even think to be human. So, the question was this: was this man some sort of demon? Or perhaps Lucifer himself? The latter didn’t seem too far off. Felix couldn’t believe his own wants, but he wanted to see this man. He wanted to see him in the light where he could study his features and look the man who was holding him captive in the eye. Felix thought he deserved that at the very least.

 

The door swung open, revealing a figure, but it hadn’t been the same one. This one was taller and well built, a little lanky if you stare long enough. He seemed to be finer dressed, a red silk shirt and black pants with equally as nice leather shoes. The man approached, something in his hands until he bent down and set whatever was in his clutches on the ground. The figure hovered, above Felix’s face, forcing the human’s open with powerful but soft words. “Open your eyes, doll face. Look at me.” His voice had the same echo to it, but was something that seemed less anger ridden; borderline seductive if Felix thought hard enough.

 

Felix couldn’t help but flutter open his eyes, meeting that of a hot pink gaze, eyes that entranced Felix to new levels. But it hadn’t been by choice. It was as if he was under a spell. “Hyung was right.... You are a pretty little thing,” The new figured uttered in amusement, a warm palm landing on the dirty skin of Felix’s cheeks. “Sit up.” His voice still remained level and soft, but Felix’s body slumped up for the first time in two days, forgetting how weak he had been before. “Eat.” The man held something up in front of Felix’s face, the boy not even hesitating to grab the bowl and practically inhale the contents inside. The man laughed. “Slow down, doll face.”

 

Felix stopped eating so fast instantly, staring at this new man with wide eyes. Why was Felix’s body acting before his mind? What was this man doing to him? He had stopped eating completely at this point, just staring down at his bowl before flickering his eyes back up at the man in front of him with the cherry red lips. He chuckled. Felix was no longer underneath this strange man’s spell, and it seemed as though he hadn’t been entirely expecting it either. The man inched forward until his nose was practically bumping with Felix’s, giving the younger a perfect view of the mole under one of his eyes and just how plump his lips had been.

 

“I see…” the man purred lightly, grazing his fingertips across Felix’s throat. Felix’s eyes squeezed shut when he felt the slight touch of nails and a whimper of fear fell from his lips before he could stop it. “I’m not going to hurt you, doll face. I’ve been given strict orders to keep hands off of you.” Felix relaxed a little bit at this, but then a thought raced into his mind; was the figure from before planning something? “But that doesn’t mean I can’t break the rules a little bit.” The man smirked and gently pressed his lips to the corner of Felix’s mouth. Felix whimpered in fear once again.

 

The man’s eyes glowed a bit brighter at the fear seeping off of Felix in thick waves, but he didn’t touch Felix further. Instead, he separated himself and picked the bowl back up. “The names Hyunjin, cutie. See you in a bit.” Hyunjin winked before leaving the room, the door swinging shut behind him. The shackles around Felix’s hands appeared once more, seemingly tighter than they had been before, but Felix could finally sit up against the wall and give his back a break for a bit. If only he could pace for a while though…

 

For now, however, this was okay, even if the conditions were terrible.

  


Day 16 

 

The next time the door opened, Felix was slumped against the cold brick of the walls. It had been three days after Hyunjin popped in and gave his head a proper run for his money, and Felix was frightened by who could possibly be there. Hyunjin scared Felix in a new way; a way that sent chills down his spine. While the first man held a physical power over Felix, this new, cherry lipped figure seemed to work his head instead of his limbs. Felix didn’t like being controlled, even if he couldn’t control most of his life, and therefore, Felix hated Hyunjin for more than one reason rather than him merely being his kidnapper.

 

Felix expected it to be Hyunjin or the first man, but he was merely met with the site of someone a bit smaller and chubbier cheeks. He held something in his hand but it looked like more of a tray rather than the small bowl Hyunjin had brought him a few days ago. “Hello!” The figure had the same echo to his voice as the other two had had, and Felix wondered if this would be a recurring theme if he were to meet anyone else. However, it sounded as if the man’s mouth had been stuffed full with food as he spoke and the smacking of the figures lips was enough to tell him that he was thinking correctly. The figure began to ramble through the food in his mouth.

 

“I’m here to feed you and uncuff you for a bit. Your wrists are no doubt raw by this point. Bad, bad hyung for torturing you. Oh! I bet you’re hungry as well, I brought you some rice–” Felix rubbed at this wrist when the cuffs suddenly disappeared, whining lowly. The figure stared at him for a moment, his talking coming to a halt as he noticed the younger’s wrist. He gently cupped his palm underneath the back of Felix’s hands and had to wrap his thumb and pinky around the younger’s when Felix tried to flinch away. “Jesus.” Felix couldn’t see what his wrists looked like in the dark, but he could faintly feel something dripping from the cuts there. “Listen, I’m going to be right back okay just… stay here and eat.”

 

The figure rushed out and shut the door behind him, Felix staring at the metal of the door in not only shock but surprise. Of course the door had been locked but the figure just left him there with a tray of food and no cuffs. Felix glanced down at the food for merely a moment before picking up the chopsticks and picking up the bowl that looked to be some sort of rice cake mixture with veggies and chicken. Felix eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head at the first taste, tears threatening to spill. The last time he had a meal that tasted this good was when his grandmother had been alive, and that was when he was six.

 

Felix’s grandmother was an odd case. She was the true definition of tough love. She didn’t praise Felix when he got good grades in school, scolded him for being too loud or being messy, even if he was average in both departments, but she loved Felix and he knew that. Because she protected him from his parents when they got too rough and cooked him meals when he was getting too skinny. But Felix didn’t find that out until she was sick in the hospital, barely conscience as she spilled her whole heart out to him. She told him to be strong and keep being the ‘stupid, stupid boy’ he was, and Felix held that close to his heart for the rest of his life.

 

Suddenly, the door opened and two figures were there this time. Felix roughly wiped away his tears before either one could register that he was crying and scooted back when the new, smaller man approached him with a box in hand. “This has to be the dumbest idea you’ve ever had!” the other figure hissed, Felix recognizing him to be Hyunjin. He stood in the doorway, occasionally looking around as if they were keeping watch for something… or someone. “He’s gonna flip his shit!” Hyunjin groaned, fear evident in his tone. The new figure rolled his eyes and quickly opened the box, pulling out some rubbing alcohol and bandages.

 

“The fact that you think I care means you literally haven’t known me the entire time we’ve been stuck together,” the new man snapped quietly, flickering his gaze back to Felix with sorrow in his eyes. Felix was rather surprised that this… whatever these people were, was trying to help him. The bright yellow of his eyes was odd to look at, but so calming. It was as if he oozed honey. “The names Jisung by the way,” Jisung hushed, grabbing Felix’s hands quickly when Hyunjin said he had three minutes to get Felix wrapped up and back into his cuffs before ‘the boss came looking for them.’ “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Jisung waved Hyunjin off.

 

Felix winced when the rubbing alcohol seeped into his skin, and Jisung stopped abruptly. Jisung’s eyes glowed brighter than they had before, standing out so brightly in the darkness of the room that Felix almost went blind. “Jisung…” Hyunjin called out cautiously from the doorway, even inching forward a tad. Jisung did nothing but merely stare into the younger’s soul with a hunger in his eyes that hadn’t just been for food. “Jisung back away from him…” Hyunjin didn’t sound confident in his words, meaning they had no effect on Jisung in the slightest, but that didn’t stop Hyunjin from approaching Jisung.

 

“Do that again,” Jisung breathed, Felix slowly backing away in hopes of putting some distance between them without alarming Jisung. Suddenly, Jisung’s fingernails roughly dug into the skin of Felix’s wrist, drawing out blood and a cry. Jisung shuddered at the sound of Felix’s whimpers and cries, only digging his nails in harder when Felix began to squirm and try and get away. Hyunjin’s voice practically shook the walls with the amount of power within when he ordered him to stop, Jisung coming back to his proper senses. The light died from Jisung’s eyes and his grip loosened until Jisung was barely touching him. “I-I am–” Jisung didn’t finish his sentence; he only quickly finished wrapping Felix’s wrist when a yell was heard from a few floors above.

 

Soon, the cuffs were placed back on Felix’s wrists, but not before Jisung placed the gentlest of kisses to the bandages as a silent apology for hurting him. However, before his right cuff could go on, Felix noticed the food crumbles on Jisung’s cheek and gently reached up to wipe his face. Felix didn’t offer him a smile but it was enough to show his gratitude before he was locked back in this room for an extended period of time. “Take care, doll face.” Hyunjin winked before ushering them both out the door and shutting it behind him; Felix was swaddled with an all too familiar darkness.

 

Day 19 

 

Felix’s nostrils were immediately hit with the scent of expensive roses and peppermint when the door opened. This man had been yet another new face and Felix felt a little… needy around him. Not necessarily a lustful needy, but when the man approached with a blanket and a crystal bowl of soup, Felix had seemingly forgotten where he was. “It’s too dark in here.” The man grumbled, voice higher pitched than Hyunjin’s and Jisung’s, but soothing beyond measure. Suddenly, a light flickered on and Felix hissed, instinctively going to shield his eyes but rubbed the rusty metal against his wrist instead, drawing out a whine.

 

But once Felix got over the initial blinding shock, it had been replaced with another once he truly got to see the man in front of him. This new face was absolutely gorgeous, immortal in a way. He didn’t seem real to Felix with the mole on the tip of his nose, the expensive gem earrings dangling from both ears, and the silk shirt and pants clinging to his body. This man was a walking gem, something so expensive that a person could only dream of having it. “I’m Minho,” he introduced before shutting the door behind him, placing the mint colored blanket down on the ground and sitting on top of it.

 

Felix finally had a good look around the room, but was completely unaware of the small object in the corner, Minho blocking the only potential hope of Felix believing that maybe just maybe this hadn’t been hell. “None of us know your name, you know? Boss won’t say,” Minho hushed, cocking his head to the side as he rested the crystal bowl in his lap. Felix flickered his eyes away as he looked down at his wrapped wrist, seeing just how awful his arms and hands looked. Felix shuddered at the thought of what his face looked like. “Ah, come on now, blossom. We don’t bite,” Minho coaxed, scooting a bit further.

 

“I’ll tell you if you remove the cuffs.”

 

Minho threw his head back, but the soft giggle that escaped his lips didn’t match the rather dramatic gesture. “I like you, blossom. You know how to do business. You know how to get what you want,” Minho smirked, setting the bowl down before standing up to unlock Felix’s cuffs. As soon as they were off, Felix’s first instinct was to make himself comfortable, stretching out his limbs and letting a few of his bones pop and crack. Minho let out a breath of amusement. “Name?” But Minho still had to finish this business transaction before he could also get settled.

 

“Lee Felix.”

 

Minho’s eyes lit up considerably, a bright grin evident on his lips, “A Lee you say? I happen to also be a Lee,” Minho snickered, playing with his crystal earring. Felix stared at the shiny material with a look of want in his eyes. It hadn’t been been for the pure want of the material, but more so something he could clutch to warm up his fingers when he sat cuffed for too long. He wanted to fiddle with something. “Hyunjinnie got it for me, isn’t it beautiful?” Minho asked with an adoring, breathy tone to his words. Felix hadn’t been sure if Minho had been showing his admiration for the raven haired boy or the item itself, but Felix had a pretty good idea that it had been the latter. “Such a sweet boy, always buying me things to please me and my greedy ways. Bless him.” Minho paused for a second. “But also bless these earrings because I saw the price tag on these things and  _damn._ ”

 

Felix offered Minho a tiny giggle. Minho’s opal eyes seem to dullen in color, but Minho himself looked as if he had received the best gift ever. “That was the cutest thing i’ve ever heard,” he murmured shamelessly. Minho glanced around the room for a moment, a sigh escaping his lips. He looked as if he had been remembering old moments, a look of despair in his eyes. “I was the last one in here you know? All of us have been in this room at one time.” Minho glanced around with a tiny smile twitching on his lips, and Felix wondered just how real it had been. “I would tell you stories but… What would I get in return, hm?”

 

Felix frowned, glancing down at his torn and ragged clothing. What could he offer?

 

“Tell you what…” Minho trailed off, breaking the silence and resting one arm behind him to lean on. Felix gulped. “A story for a story. You get to eat while I tell you my story and I get to hear yours.” Minho grinned slyly, something more malicious to it than before. However, it was out of pure and utter greed rather than evil. Minho loved information, and anything he could find out about this mortal, he would do so. So, when Felix nodded his head in agreement, Minho let out a shriek of joy and began to tell his story.

 

“I was here for two months before I met Hyunjin. He took me in, fed me, made sure the cuffs weren’t too tight and told me everything I wanted to know. Hyunjin spoiled me completely and I hadn’t realized it until later. I had originally took to Chan, but the oaf does nothing but sleep all the time, so it was hard to connect with him,” Minho shrugged, a certain fondness to his tone. “Hyunjin… Hyunjin treated me like a prince, maybe it had something to do with the nickname he gave me, I don’t know… But he protected me and I think that’s why I’m so thankful to be here.” Minho gently grasped Felix’s hand, stroking along his knuckles. “I know it’s rough, god I know, but just be strong and hold out. Don’t let him get to you.” Minho’s hand came up to swipe his thumb along Felix’s chin.

 

Minho left after that. He left without hearing Felix’s story, and when Felix pointed it out, Minho told him to save it for another time. However, when Felix squeezed his palm after the cuffs were back on, he realized something cold was between his fingers.Minho left the room with only one crystal earring dangling gracefully and glinting in the dark of the room, and Felix felt a little more hopeful.

 

He felt just a little more powerful.

 

Day 22 

 

Soft and slow footsteps could be heard from down the hall; the closer they come, the sleepier Felix became. The boy let out a yawn when the door squeaked open slowly and a gray haired man came shuffling in sleepily. “Hello,” the man greeted with a mumble, Felix barely able to make out what had been said. This new man held some sort of chip bag in one hand and a pillow and blanket in the other. “Here’s your food for the next three days.” The figure chucked the bag at Felix’s chest before sitting down beside Felix and uncuffing him slowly. It felt like it was ages before the cuffs were off, and Felix let out a breath of relief when they were finally released from his wrists.

 

The crystal earring Minho had slipped Felix before he left was still as shiny as always, Felix staring at it in interest. However, a pillow was placed in his lap and the new man’s face was now laid on that pillow, staring up at Felix with half lidded eyes. Felix tried to speak, but the man lazily placed his palm flat on Felix’s cheek to hush him. “Eat your food so we can sleep.” For once, Felix actually made his own decision and ate his food without feeling obliged to. The man seemed ready to pass out any moment now, and Felix wondered if this was the Chan that Minho had been talking about last time. It wouldn’t surprise him.

 

Felix finished his food quickly, Chan coaxing him down onto the ground so he could lay down properly. However, when Felix laid down and his aching back hit the ground, a whimper escaped his lips. Before he knew it, Chan was straddling his hips and staring down at him with pale blue eyes. “Don’t do that,” he hissed, striking a sense of fear into Felix when his hand covered the younger’s mouth. “You feed us with your fear and pain.  _Don’t give in_.” It seemed as though the little energy Chan showed died quickly after Felix nodded his head frantically. Chan climbed off of Felix’s body and laid down beside him, wrapping them both up in the warm blanket Chan had brought him and snuggling into his shoulder.

 

Felix knew sleeping was apart of today’s ‘bonding experience,’ but he could only stare up at the ceiling with sore eyes, fidgeting with the earring in his hand. Chan sensed his distress and threw an arm over Felix’s body, dragging him closer. “Just sleep,” Chan coaxed, and Felix couldn’t help but give in.

  


He was barely conscious when cold, familiar fingertips ran along the mortal’s cheekbones. Felix flickered his eyes open and was met with a pair of gold ones, seemingly duller than they had been before. Felix knew he should have backed away in shock, should have screamed and tried to get up, but he couldn’t. There was something that kept him drowsy and unable to move drastically. When the man realized Felix was awake, a smirk fell over his lips, and Felix knew it was there even if he couldn’t see it. “Ah, angel. You finally join me,” the man hushed, the same echo to it that Felix realized to be a lot stronger than everyone's voices combined. Even more powerful than the voice Hyunjin used that rattled the very walls when Jisung lost his senses.

 

“I see most have become… attached to you, offering you small items of reassurance,” the man said, never removing his hand from Felix’s cheek but raising the other to show the crystal earring waving in the air like a clock, mocking Felix endlessly. This seemed to draw Felix out of his trance as he quickly sat up and tried to snatch it from the demon’s hand, but he merely tutted and stood up. “Don’t get so brave now, angel. What are you going to do for me to get this back hm?” Minho practically dripped from this Minho’s voice, but Felix began to think that it may have been the other way around. This figure no doubt was the ‘boss’ everyone referred to.

 

Felix stayed quiet.

 

“Silence? Okay then.” The man huffed in amusement, sounding unbelievably patronizing when he got up to leave, but Felix was quick to call out and plead for him to wait. The man stopped, swiveling on his heel to face the mortal. Felix oozed the true essence of fear, unknowingly lighting up the whole room with his blinding aura that everyone had ignored, not only for their own sakes, but Felix’s. “What shall it be, angel?” The man hovered above him now, legs on either side of his hips and pinning Felix’s arms to his sides. Felix let out a fear ridden whimper, the man’s eyes flashing an even deeper gold and a malicious laugh seeping from his lips.

 

“I don’t know what you want, okay? I don’t know what you could possibly want from someone like me when you could probably get anything you wanted–” Something within the man seemed to change, flickering his eyes in a way that had Felix’s mouth snapped shut and eyes drooping closed. The same feeling of something wet and cold appeared on the nape of Felix’s neck and he squirmed under the touch of the man’s lips. The man didn’t utter a word after that, only taking Felix’s hand and slipping the earring into his palm before closing his fist around it tightly. Two fingertips touched both of his eyelids, and Felix fell back into his fit of sleep before the man could even leave the room.

 

“Soon, angel, soon.”

  


Day 25 

 

Felix was huddled up in the corner of the room, sobbing uncontrollably as he clutched at the blanket and earring desperately. When Felix had woken up, something within him shut down and something else turned on. Maybe it was all of the shock he was supposed to be feeling before was finally registering in his head or his depression creeping back up on him, but either way, Felix felt like he was breaking down. He knew someone would show up any minute to offer him his lunch and probably manipulate a bit of hope into his head, but Felix didn’t care.

 

None of the hope was real. This was all just some sick game they had been playing to make Felix crack. They were trying to get him to explode so he could feed their cruel, sickening ways. So when the door opened and two figures were there and Felix recognized one of them, he didn’t even bother turning their way. He kept his tears flowing and his cold demeanor shown. Yes, he may have been clutching the earrings and blanket like his life depended on it, but that didn’t make the hate he suddenly felt for them lessen.

 

“He looks so frail,” a new voice spoke. This one…  _he sounded angry_. His voice didn’t have the same chill to it as the boss had; this one was quite the opposite as it sounded very heated. This man no doubt held fire in both his eyes and blood and it scared Felix. Because he was going to get hurt and Felix knew it from a mile away. There was something off when Jisung opened the door and looked pained beyond measure, trying his best to keep his eyes closed. “Jisung hyung, open your eyes and watch.” The man tried to coax Jisung to open his eyes but the elder just shook his head sternly. “Ah, come on darling.” He sounded too malicious.

 

“Fuck off, Seungmin,” Jisung snapped heatedly. Seungmin cackled before bending down and grabbing Felix harshly by the jaw and pivoting his head so Felix was staring right into his deep red eyes. No words were said as Seungmin dug his nails into the mortal’s skin, drawing blood from the depths of Felix’s body and a cry. Jisung went rigid. “Just get it over with, Seungmin!” Jisung screeched in anger, flinching when he heard a slap echo off of the walls and Felix whimper helplessly. The tears had yet to stop flowing down his cheeks and it only seemed to worsen with every blow.

 

Seungmin had too much pent up anger, and by the boss’ orders, he was allowed to take that anger out on Felix, and Jisung was forced to attend to make sure it didn’t get too out of hand. But with every blow, every slap, every kick, every hit, Felix took it like he did with his father. He no longer saw Seungmin hovering above him but instead his father, his mother, his classmates, everyone that had done him wrong. Felix began to sob uncontrollably, curling up in on himself and only angering Seungmin further, eyes bright red at this point. “Seungmin that’s enough!” The blows halted and Felix whispered out a ‘no’ that was so weak that the two beings barely even heard him. But when they did, Jisung’s face dropped and Seungmin seemed to realize what had been so damn significant about this boy.

 

Felix flinched away when they stepped forward in hopes of bandaging him up. The two had clearly received the message when Felix screamed for Jisung and Seungmin to go the fuck away. “Felix-” Felix kicked at Jisung’s leg weakly, backing even closer into the back wall in hopes of putting some space between them. Jisung was about to stay out of pure and utter spite but Seungmin had taken Jisung’s hip and guided them out through the door knowing Felix just wanted to be alone.

 

“Grams… please.” Felix whimpered to himself, wrapping the pink blanket close around his body and pressing his lips to the crystal of the earring.   

 

Day 28 

 

Felix hadn’t moved from his position in the corner since Jisung and Seungmin left him there. His body felt too weak to do so and barely even registered when the door opened for the sixth time that revealed yet another new man, no one accompanying him. He held the same box Jisung had had the first time around and a plate of something hot and steaming. “Hello.” The man’s voice was so soft; not having the same echo to it the other’s had but when his eyes shined a bright, forest green when Felix stared right into him from his position on the floor, Felix realized that he had been no different from the others.

 

So when Felix turned his head so he was facing the wall like he had been originally, the man took it upon himself to place the steaming plate on the ground, grab the necessary items from the box, and treat Felix whether he wanted to or not. Felix submitted to the figure like a ragdoll when he gently gripped his shoulder and pulled him down so that Felix was lying on his back, face emotionless. This hadn’t seemed to irk the figure in the slightest, seemingly used to picking up the pieces of whatever Seungmin had caused in the past. He treated his wounds without any sort of fuss or words exchanged except for soft orders for Felix to move or lift his arms.

 

Felix wondered if this man had treated him the night he almost died at his father’s feet.

 

“Sit up. You have to eat,” the man ordered gently, hooking his arms underneath Felix’s and practically tugging his body into his lap. Felix leaned his back against the elder’s chest without question and the elder brought the steaming plate of food into Felix’s lap. He picked at some of the chicken and rice with his chopsticks before lifting it up to Felix’s mouth. However, Felix refused to take any of it despite his pleading. However, a nose nuzzled into his neck,  and Felix felt warm breath slide down his neck. “Eat for Woojin hyung.” Felix gave in. He opened his mouth and ate the food, his body relaxing more and more as it took in the food he so desperately needed.

 

Half of the plate was done before Felix shook his head, unable to intake any more food. Woojin sighed but didn’t fight it, setting down the plate. “They weren’t lying when they said you were gorgeous.” Woojin hushed after a while, Felix taking note of the envious tone Woojin used. “I remember being that young too…” Felix hated the way Woojin sounded so envious of everything; the man obviously struggled with his own self esteem. Felix gently patted Woojin’s hands in comfort.

 

“Bet you weren’t locked in a room though were you?” The rhetorical question was overwhelmingly bitter, but Woojin didn’t take offense, only laughing in amusement.

 

“No. No, I hadn’t been, but I would when I turned 21,” Woojin murmured, nuzzling his face back into Felix’s neck. They there for a while, Felix standing by his statement of not liking the envious tone Woojin used when he described the life others lived. Which, in a way, Felix couldn’t entirely blame him, Woojin was practically working for the devil himself. “Get some sleep, Felix,” Woojin hushed before leaving the room with the plate and a small part of himself etched in the younger’s heart.

  


Day 31 

 

Felix was entirely caught off guard when a baby faced teenager stepped through the door with a bottle of soda and a cupcake, a prideful smile evident on his lips. The boy had to be younger than Felix, with his wide, innocent eyes and teeth adorning glinting braces, but the way his eyes glowed a deep lavender that reminded him of his little cousin said otherwise. “Hyung! Get up! I made you a cupcake,” the baby faced teen screeched with excitement. Felix scrambled up in semi fright, not sure where the evil inside him resided.

 

However, the boy only shoved the strawberry cupcake with purple icing towards him with more enthusiasm. Felix took it cautiously. He carefully unwrapped half of the cupcake, licking at the icing as he always did, but with far more caution than probably necessary. Felix practically moaned at the taste of buttercream and eagerly bit into the cupcake, “This is really good–” Felix stopped. He didn’t know the kid’s name but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

 

“I’m Jeongin,” he introduced himself, sounding far calmer once Felix had praised him. “I made it all myself. There’s more but I don’t know if the boss will let me bring another one down. It took a lot of convincing for him to let me bring this one,” Jeongin rambled, but it had been oddly soothing in a way. “But I can always try and convince him to bring another–” Felix shook his head shyly, causing Jeongin’s mouth to snap shut and a frown to grow on his lips.

 

“I’m not sure I could handle another one… I’m pretty full already.” Jeongin looked Felix up and down with concern, stepping forward and running his hands along the mortal’s sides. Felix gulped shyly and flickered his eyes away when Jeongin looked up at him with much brighter lavender eyes.

 

“Hyung needs to feed you more–” Suddenly everything around Felix felt like it was spinning. He stumbled forward, Jeongin having to catch his frail body with a sad smile. Felix began to drunkenly ask what had been in the cupcake, but Jeongin kept muttering apologies and reassurances.

 

Everything went black.

 

Day 34 

 

Felix awoke slowly, breathing deeply and stretching his body out as if he were a cat. The surface beneath him was comfortable and plushy, a complete contrast to the cold concrete he had found himself on for weeks. The covers on top of him hadn’t moved an inch when he sprawled out like a star, none of his limbs hanging off of the mattress and exposed to the cool air of the room. For a moment, Felix had forgotten where he had been for nearly five weeks, just letting his body relax into the plush foam underneath him so his muscles didn’t ache so much.

 

However, something within his head was gnawing at his skull begging for attention, and his eyes fluttered open without a second thought. For the first time in a very long time, Felix was met with a ceiling he could see rather than complete darkness, and his heart began to pump wildly. Felix snapped up, letting the silk covers slide off of his body, and looked around in complete and utter  _awe_. The room looked straight out of the French Victorian era, a gold and white theme evident throughout the room, and Felix wondered if he was in the Palace of Versailles itself. It was gorgeous, but absolutely eerie at the same time.

 

Felix took in a cold breath, swinging his scarily thin legs around and off of the bed. God,  _the bed_. It was big enough to fit three people comfortably, and Felix swore the mattress was conforming to his body and fitting around him to his utmost desire. The covers were made of a thick white comforter with golden accents, and he had pillow upon pillow, which intrigued Felix to a certain extent. All of them had been gold and white except for a pale blue one buried amongst the others, barely peeking out for Felix to see. He reached out and grasped it gently to tug it out and place it in his lap. When it traveled by his head, he was hit with the smell of firewood and natural flowers, Felix nearly melting at the smell.

 

He held it close to his chest and buried his nose in the middle of the fluffy, pale blue cylinder pillow to breathe it in, the scent somehow, someway, giving him a sense of true comfort and  _home_. However, Felix was eager to look around and try to figure out where the hell he was, so he gently set the pillow down on the mattress and lifted his body up. Felix’s feet hit the cold wood flooring, and he winced slightly but didn’t flinch away. On wobbly legs, Felix managed to stand up and grip the end table to keep himself up right and stable, reaching for the pillow and holding it tight to his chest. He slid his hands along the wall as he walked around the bed, eyes focused on the window letting an excessive amount of light into his room.

 

Felix swayed over to it, glancing outside and expecting to see a city or a few houses in sight, but no. He was met with a courtyard that had been unbearably dead and overgrown, and forestry that went on for as far as his eyes could see. Felix was in the middle of nowhere and there hadn’t been any denying it. However, at the very last minute, a figure in the middle of the courtyard caught his eye, and Felix’s blood ran cold.  _He_ was there, looking up at him with a cold stare and an even colder aura that made Felix shiver. However, the man just winked and walked forward, disappearing into the mansion Felix was in.

 

Firm knocks came at the door before Felix could even process anything, and the door opened not long afterwards, revealing a very familiar man that Felix really just wanted to hug. Minho stood in the doorway with a small smile and clothes in hand. “I see you’re awake. Good morning, blossom,” Minho greeted, placing the clothes in the chair by the door. Felix didn’t say anything as he noticed Minho still wore only one, dangling earring. Felix’s heart swelled slightly. Minho’s eyes flickered down the pillow Felix was clutching close to his chest and his smile swayed for only a moment. “What does it smell like?”

 

Felix’s eyebrows furrowed at the question but answered it anyway, “Like firewood and wild roses.” Felix stroked the pillow fondly with the tip of his pointer finger, oblivious to the harsh breath Minho had sucked in. Another set of knocks came at the door and Felix snapped his eyes up to see Hyunjin, a charming smile on his lips and Felix sucked in a breath at the man’s sheer beauty in the light. “You guys are really pretty,” Felix blurted out without a thought, looking down at the ground in embarrassment afterwards. They both let out a low laugh, a certain fondness to it that Felix hadn’t heard in a very long time.

 

“Thank you, dollface,” Hyunjin hummed, stepping towards Felix and bending down to leave a peck to the younger’s cheek. However, Hyunjin caught sight of the pillow and Felix could see him tense up visibly. “So… uh.. What does it smell like?” Felix was rather confused why they kept asking what the pillow smelled like, and didn’t even have the chance to answer for himself before Minho spoke up and answer for him.

 

“Firewood and wild roses.” His tone was a lot darker than Felix expected. He watched Hyunjin turn back towards his lover for a moment and let them share five seconds of knowing looks. Hyunjin turned back towards Felix with a smaller smile than he had before, but pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment. “The bathroom is through that door. Wash up and change into these clothes. We’re having dinner in an hour, don’t be late.” Minho winked before Hyunjin wrapped an arm around his waist and lead them both out of the room. The door shut with a soft click, Felix letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

 

Felix stared at the pile of clothes for a moment before nudging his nose back into the pillow and breathing in the forest scent deeply, allowing himself to enjoy a tiny second of bliss in a room worth more than his entire family tree. Eventually, however, he put the pillow down with some reluctance and picked up the clothes instead before heading into the bathroom. The bathroom was just as luxurious as the bedroom, keeping the same Victorian vibes. There was a porcelain tub in the middle with gold claw feet perfectly exposed to the large window lining the back wall. There was a couple sink set along the right wall, and a shower and toilet on the left. A furry rug smack dab in the middle and in front of the tub looked so soft that Felix just wanted to collapse right onto it.

 

When Felix’s dirty, concerningly skinny body dipped into the water of the tub, a sigh escaped his lips. The water was steaming and smelled of lavender, relaxing Felix’s muscles more than the bed had. He practically melted into the porcelain of the tub, his arms dangling off of the sides. However, Felix realized he really needed to wash up and looked around the side of the tub until he saw three separate bottles, all of different heights and widths but made out of a solid golden material. The first had been shampoo, Felix pouring an amount no bigger than a quarter and rubbing it into his hands before massaging it into his head.

 

Felix gently spiked his hair into a mohawk with nothing more than a gentle smile, forgetting his situation for just a few moments. Felix, no matter what, was always going to have a pure and innocent soul; he was a kid at heart. His moment of childlike ways didn’t last very long, though, and he finished rinsing his hair and washing his body so it was free of dirt, even going under his nails to pick out the grime that had built up over a year. The water was cold now, but Felix couldn’t bring himself to get out.

 

He dipped his head under the water, holding his breath for a while. Felix flickered his eyes open and the face of his father hovered over him. His eyes were dark but red from lack of sleep. His skin was sickly pale and his fingertips stained yellow. A vein popped on his forehead, ready to burst at any given moment, but he hadn’t been angry. Not red tinted face angry, but calm and collected angry. That anger would always scare Felix more than any screaming and yelling could. Felix’s mouth opened with a gasp and water filled his lungs.

 

Felix lifted his head out from underneath the water with a fit of coughs and tears gushing down his cheeks. He took in shaky breaths, his throat making rather odd noises as he tried to contain himself while looking around at the same time. No one had been there. No one was in the room. His dad wasn’t here. But despite the constant reassurances in his head, Felix couldn’t shake the fear pumping in his blood. A familiar smell of firewood and wild roses seeped into the room suddenly, and Felix involuntarily sunk back down into the tub.

 

When his heart rate slowed and he thought he could stand up, Felix shakily lifted himself out of the tub, his feet just barely hitting the white furry rug underneath him. His fingers grabbed for the towel resting on the floor where the bottles of soap and shampoo had been and wrapped it firmly around his shoulders, the fabric enclosing his body almost completely. Not that there had been much to cover to begin with. Felix dried both his body and his hair, making sure nothing was dripping before he slipped on the expensive looking clothes.

 

He had been given a pair of white skinny jeans and a white silk shirt that hung off of him but didn’t engulf him completely. He tucked the ends into his waistband and tugged some of it out so it dripped over the sides. Even the shoes, seemingly much fancier than the richest man in Seoul could own, were white as well, gold shoelaces and gold pearls along the heel. They were gorgeous, so gorgeous that Felix felt unbearably guilty about even being in the same building as them. He didn’t deserve to even have them on. He didn’t deserve to even be here, on this planet, in this room, wearing these clothes.

 

He was supposed to be dead.

 

Tears began to fall from his eyes before he could even think. Felix rushed into the bedroom, grabbed the pale blue pillow, and let his tears soak the fabric that only seemed to release more of the fragrance into both his nose and the room. Soon, the entire room smelt like burning firewood and wild roses. It was as if he was really in front of a campfire at that point while standing next to a dozen rose bushes. The smell alone managed to calm him down, but there had been birds outside his window, singing softly for only  _Felix_ to hear. Felix managed to pull himself together before the clock hits an hour and the door to his bedroom swung open, just barely touching the wall behind it.

 

Felix sat the pillow down reluctantly, debating taking it down with him, but he knew that would be really weird. So, when something shimmering caught the corner of his eye and Felix saw the earring resting on the nightstand, Felix dropped the pillow with a little more ease. He reached for the earring, rolling it between his fingers like he had done down in his cell time and time again, and his nerves seemed to fade. Felix inched towards the open door and stepped out into the hallway, looking around for any sort of sign of life. But there was nothing in sight. The width of the hallway was bigger than Felix’s room at home, and he could have swore the hallways were as big as the crosswalks in Tokyo.

 

They kept with the same Victorian theme, and Felix would soon learn that the rest of the house was that way as well. The mansion had been around during that time, and Felix wondered how the fuck it ended up in Korea of all places.  However, he couldn’t dwell on it any further as a gray haired man crossed the hallway and the sounds of voices filled his ears. Chan caught his eyes with a sleepy yawn, a dazed smile laying on his lips like a fine lip gloss. “You lost?” Chan murmured, staying put in his spot as to not spark any sort of fear into the younger. Felix nodded solemnly. “That’s okay. _All roads lead to where you need them to go_ ,” Chan hushed and offered Felix his hand.

 

Felix stared at it for a moment before hesitantly stepping forward to take it. Chan’s warm fingers enclosed around his own, and Felix let out a low hum of content when his shoulder bumped with the elder’s. “I get lost here a lot too. So, let’s be lost together, hm?” His speech was slurred, as if Chan was ready to pass out at any moment, but he stood upright and walked with a purpose, leading Felix along even though the younger was stood directly at his side. Felix stared at him for a moment in shock; someone getting lost in their own home seemed so odd to him, but he could understand why someone would get lost in a place this huge.

 

“You get lost?” Chan let out a heart warming laugh.

 

“Too much.”

 

And a silence fell over them. It was comfortable and very much needed for Felix. The voices from before became louder and louder. Felix’s nerves spiked again, and he ended up rolling the earring between his fingertips to reduce them. He took Chan’s words into mind and he knew that if he showed any sort of weakness to them, they would milk it dry. Especially  _him_. Felix took in a sharp breath when he walked into a red themed dining room, an uneven amount of chairs surrounding it. On the far end of one table was Minho, sipping on a glass of red wine with Hyunjin’s arm draped over the back of his chair, who had been holding a playful conversation with Woojin. Woojin, on the other side of the table, sat in between Jeongin and Jisung; Jeongin was happily drinking a glass of bright purple lemonade that hit Felix’s nostrils from the doorway and Jisung was chowing down on a chicken leg with Seungmin picking up the crumbs after him with a look of pure and utter irritation.

 

At the head of the table was the man with more power than all of them combined, and Felix finally got to have a good look at him. His nose was long but seemed to go well with the rest of his face: his chin was sharp and prominent, his eyes were slanted, but Felix could see the bright gold sticking out from yards away, and his lips were thin but plush and for a moment, and only a moment, Felix had admitted to himself that he was  _breathtaking_. “Sorry, we’re late, Changbin–” So his name was Changbin. “I got lost… like all the other times,” Chan admitted shamelessly. Changbin just flickered his eyes up in slight boredom and expectancy.

 

“You’re actually on time for once. Sit down,” the man gruffed, sliding his knife along the steak in front of him and placing the piece in his mouth. His voice shook the walls, but no one really seemed to care as Chan blinked slowly at Changbin for a moment. However, the silver haired man just shrugged and sat down next to Hyunjin, leaving the other chair at the head of the table empty and barren. Music had been playing in the background softly, but seemed to stop suddenly when everyone noticed his hesitance. “Sit down,” Changbin ordered once more, eyes narrowed into thin slits and glowing brightly.

 

Felix gulped and nodded, scurrying over to the chair right across from Changbin and sitting down awkwardly. The music turned back on and everyone went back to eating. A warm palm landed on Felix’s right knee and Felix flickering his eyes up to meet the sleep ridden ones of Chan. He squeezed the knee gently before offering Felix a small smile and slipping the hand away, Felix appreciating the gesture greatly. Felix’s plate remained empty for the entirety of the dinner, not daring to touch the well made food he really didn’t deserve and ignoring the rumble and grumble of his stomach.

 

The seven boys laughed and threw food at each other, making conversation late into the night until Seungmin had to hoist Jisung up into his arms after he passed out and left with a goodnight, everyone else doing the same not long afterwards. This left Felix alone with Changbin, who was still eating the meal he had when Felix had walked in, placing another piece of still warm steak into his mouth. Felix coughed awkwardly and stood up, gathering everyone’s messy plates to wash up, but Changbin was quick to call him out. “What are you doing?” He didn’t even bother to look up at Felix.

 

“I was just cleaning up–”

 

“Sit down. You still haven’t eaten.” Felix gulped and stared at the pile of dirty plates he had stacked and back to his pristine one, wincing when he realized he hadn’t hidden his on the bottom of everyone else’s. Felix didn’t dare to disobey though, scrambling to sit back in his seat and settle so he didn’t accidently make Changbin angry. The elder snapped his fingers after a while, Felix’s still clean plate flying over to his hand with a jolt that made Felix flinch. Changbin disregarded this completely and began to pile food onto the plate, enough to make Felix sick to his stomach just from looking at it.

 

Felix winced when the plate drifted back over to him mid air and landed right in front of him, staring up at him in a mocking way because he just knew there was no way he could eat all of this. He hesitated yes, but he didn’t ignore the food. It looked absolutely delicious and Felix couldn’t resist the smell of it, but as the food piled up in his small stomach, he felt sicker and sicker. Part of it had been because he was intaking so much at one time, and the other was out of the pure and utter belief of knowing he didn’t deserve it. “I can’t eat anymore,” Felix whispered in embarrassment and fear, never looking Changbin directly in the eyes.

 

A clatter of silverware hitting a plate echoed in the large room, Felix flinching more than he should have and squeezing his eyes shut. “Look at me.” Changbin held power in his tone, but he didn’t sound angry in anyway and Felix wanders if that was what made him lift his head up that night. Had he just been curious and obedient? Or did Changbin hold a power over him? Felix lifted his head up, locking eyes with bright, gold eyes that shimmered beautifully. Changbin stared deep into Felix’s own, tearing apart his soul piece by piece in hopes of figuring something out, but nothing came forward. “Let’s go over some ground rules.” Felix nodded his head frantically. “You are allowed to roam the house. You are allowed to talk to the others. You are free to do as you wish. But you are not to go outside until I know I can trust you won’t run off. They’ve put good word in for you.”

 

Changbin spoke too casually but too formally at the same time. It completely threw Felix off, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. This was such a drastic change to what he had been living in before. “Breakfast is at ten, lunch is at three, and dinner is at seven. If you get lost, just call out. Someone will find you.” Changbin’s plate was finished and he left the room without another word. Well, that was until he turned at the doorway. “Goodnight, Felix,” Changbin hushed before leaving for good, and Felix sat up straight in his chair. God. Felix was going to lose his mind here.

 

Day 36 

 

Out of pure and utter boredom, Felix found himself wandering the seemingly endless halls of the castle in the middle of the day. Most of the rooms had been bedrooms, but Felix learned rather quickly that most, if not all, were incredibly dark in theme. All except Felix’s room anyway, and he wondered if that had been deliberate. His clothes remained light as well. He received only white clothes, occasionally adorned with a stripe of a pale color like blue or purple, but it was as if he were some sort of angel amongst a fit of demons.

 

Felix had reached the top floor, the corridors decorated and most of the bedrooms absolutely gorgeous. but at the very end of the east wing lied a room. It was empty and cold, still harboring old wood and stone as it’s floors and walls, but Felix found it oddly comforting. It was familiar to him. Maybe it was the little light in the room or the lack of furniture making it unbearably empty, but either way, Felix felt a lot more at ease in this room rather than the one he had been staying in for the past few days.

 

Felix inched over to the window, staring down at the courtyard below. It was dead and overgrown, and it made Felix wince. Felix had seen what a garden could look like when taken care of by a master; his grandmother had been a perfect example of this. Felix could remember the unending colors of dragon’s breath, pincushions and iris’. Her garden was picked out carefully but looked so unbelievably natural that it had grown into a safe haven for Felix. So, when it started to die after she died, a part of Felix died as well. Felix wished he hadn’t been too young to take care of it at the time. Even if he couldn’t master it like his grandmother, he knew what he was capable of when it came to gardening.

 

The smallest of smiles twitched up onto his lips, but it had been empty. In this room, Felix was as empty as it had been; for the slightest moment he felt at peace. But only for a moment. Because while the pain was gone, so was everything else, and he was left with this unsettlement in the pit of his stomach that let him know that he wasn’t anything. However, the room still held a comfort and hold over him that Felix couldn’t shake, and he stayed there for much longer than he had intended. So much longer, in fact, that the sun was beginning to set. “Felix?” A soft voice called from the doorway, snapping Felix out of his daze.

 

Felix swiveled his head over his shoulder and locked eyes with a content Woojin, something Felix wasn’t at all used to. He had grown accustomed to the way the elder always looked envious of everything, this glint of pure sorrow in his eyes that made Felix frown every time he spoke to Woojin. But this time… that just didn’t seem to be the case. He seemed at peace with the demons in his head, and it stirred something inside of Felix he couldn’t quite explain. “Hey Hyung,” Felix greeted gently, voice so soft that Woojin barely caught it.

 

“You missed lunch and you’re late for dinner.” Felix’s stomach swirled at the idea of intaking anymore food. Changbin had been forcing him to eat more than he usually had and Felix’s stomach felt like it was going to burst any moment. Woojin must have noticed, because he stepped forward and placed his hands flat on Felix’s cheeks. “Just go down and say hello. Eat as much as you can and Changbin will be satisfied,” Woojin advised, stroking his thumbs along Felix’s damp cheekbones. Felix hadn’t even realized tears began to spill.

 

Felix sniffled and nodded, wiping at his own tears harshly and shooting Woojin a weak smile. Woojin could see how broken Felix was inside and made a mental note to discuss it with the others next time he had the chance, but for now, he would have to subtly repair the boy so he wasn’t miserable here. As much as Felix didn’t want it, he was here to stay, and Woojin just knew Changbin wouldn’t let him leave anytime soon. The fact that Felix was even still alive shocked him to an extent, but he wouldn’t voice those thoughts; he really didn’t want to give Changbin any ideas.

 

Woojin offered Felix his arm, and Felix practically curled around him as they walked down the multiple levels until they reached the last floor and stood just outside the dining room. Woojin turned towards Felix, inspecting him for any sort of signs of him crying. His eyes were puffy and red, but Woojin couldn’t do much about that, so he gently kissed at both of his eyelids before walking inside the dining room first. “Hyung!” Jeongin cheered loudly as soon as Felix walked inside, looking ready to jump out of his seat. However, Woojin walked behind the younger and ruffled his hair with a gentle smile. Jeongin seemed to relax right back into his seat at the mere graze of his fingers.

 

Felix bowed in everyone’s direction before sitting down in his chair and seeing his plate was already made. Instead of the big portions Changbin usually served him, there were much smaller portions and Felix felt a bit hopeful that he may be able to finish this meal. When Felix flickered his eyes up to face Changbin, the male had been making quiet conversation with Minho, acting as if Felix wasn’t even there. Felix was okay with that, even if it had been a little odd. Felix dug into his meal, listening to Jeongin excitedly tell Jisung that he’s finished writing his book with the most prideful glint in his eyes.

 

“What’s it about?” Felix murmured quietly, catching Jeongin’s attention and everyone else’s as well. The table had gone quiet, staring at Felix in shock. Felix never talked when they ate. He avoided it at all costs unless they asked him a question. So, seeing him openly talk and make conversation threw everyone off. However, Jeongin didn’t hesitate to jump straight into it with the same bright smile from before and Felix tried his best to ignore the thumping of his heart and gold stare on his face.

 

“It’s about this mermaid who lives in the depths of a sea cave despite being a prince and gets found by a sailor’s son whose father is known for killing mermaids. You’ll just have to wait and read to know the ending.” Jeongin smirked and Felix was genuinely interested. He even went as far as to comment that he couldn’t wait to read it, and Jeongin relaxed significantly in his seat. “Would you like to read it? Like, before it’s published. You can be my beta before I send it off to my editors,” Jeongin shyly murmured, a completely contrast to what he was normally used to. Jeongin was normally very bright and confident in himself, so it was odd that he was being so shy towards Felix.

 

“I would like that.”

 

Soon, everyone had dispersed and Felix had finished most of his food. Woojin had still been there talking softly with Changbin, so Felix took it upon himself to clean up. Neither Changbin nor Woojin seemed to notice this, so Felix decided it was okay for him to continue and took the dishes into the kitchens. Eric was sitting on top of the island in the middle of kitchen eating a cupcake, but he stopped like a deer caught in headlights when Felix walked in. “Go back to eating your damn cupcake,” Felix teased, placing the dishes on the counter and turning on the water so it had time to heat up. “I’ll be back.” Felix strolled back towards the dining room to check if he had missed anything but stopped abruptly when he could hear Changbin and Woojin talking quietly. 

 

“So, where did you find him?”

 

“He was up in the attic in the empty room you don’t know what to do with yet.”

 

It was quiet for a second.

 

“Of course he would choose that room of all places.”

 

“Just as the rest of us, he chose a room that he found comfort in and represented who he was as a person. Just as Minho picked the richest room and Chan picked the one with the softest bed.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“What are you going to do with him?”

 

“...He is not capable of being one of us. I am afraid that if I were to do the same I had done to the rest of you, no flaw would be found and he would kill us all.”

 

“Are you saying he doesn’t have one?”

 

“I’m saying he’s  _different_.”

 

The conversation stopped there, Felix sucking in a harsh breath and scurrying back to the kitchens when he heard footsteps coming closer. He just barely escaped back into the kitchen when Changbin showed himself in the hallway, staring at Felix’s retreating figure with a knowing look. He knew Felix was there the whole time, and Felix knew it too. But Changbin didn’t do anything. He merely sighed and walked away, escaping into his room in the east wing of the top floor.

 

The moment Felix was back into the kitchen, he breathed out unsteadily and shook out his hands to put some blood flow there. It felt like every part of him had gone numb when Woojin and Changbin had been talking about him.  _What the fuck did he mean by Felix was different?_ What made him so much different from the rest of them? Felix could point out ten flaws just from looking at his arms; he really wasn’t that much different from them. Felix knew he shouldn’t have been comparing himself to the men that kidnapped him, that he should be relieved he was nothing like them. But Felix was complicated. He wanted to fit in somewhere, and he was desperate enough to try and fit in with probably the most evil men to ever exist.

 

Felix wanted to burst into tears right in the middle of washing dishes, but he couldn’t. Not with Eric standing there babbling about god knows what. Felix didn’t really care to know at the time, all he did know was that Eric was impossibly comforting when he felt like he was about to lose his head. Suddenly, as Felix was putting away the last of the dishes, a figure poked into the kitchen’s shyly. “Oh. Hi, Jeongin,” Felix murmured as he reached up to place the plates in the cabinet above. Jeongin shuffled more into the kitchen.

 

“Hey Hyung. I have that book for you.” Jeongin shyly lifted up a stack of papers held together by three metal rings up in the air. Felix gently placed the last of the silverware in the drawer and paced over, taking the book into his hands with a small, weak smile. “I know it’s long, but I also know it can get boring in this house especially considering you can’t go outside–,” Felix shut Jeongin up by placing a kiss to his forehead and ruffling his hair. A blush spread across Jeongin’s cheeks, but he pouted as he tried to fix his now very messy hair.

 

“Thanks, Jeongin,” Felix murmured before leaving the kitchens with the book in hand and the empty room in mind.

 

Felix ended up falling asleep editing Jeongin’s book, hunched over in the corner uncomfortably but content. He was entirely oblivious to Changbin stood in the doorway with a look no one would be able to quite make out. He was also too deep into his slumber to feel Changbin lift him up and carry him into his room, the book floating by Changbin’s head until he safely tucked Felix into his bed. Changbin thought he was safe when he left the room and saw no one in the hallway; until Minho’s door opened abruptly and Minho stood in the doorway with the widest smirk and darkest glint in his eyes.

 

“Well…” Minho hummed, cocking his head to the side in amusement. Minho looked messy in nothing but silk pajama bottoms and an unbuttoned top revealing his torso and Hyunjin no doubt was sprawled out on the bed in the room Minho had been blocking. “Growing a soft spot, hm?” Minho’s tone hadn’t been patronizing, but Changbin sure as hell saw it that way. A natural snarl grew on his face, ready to spit out fair arguments Minho’s way, but the younger just shook his head. “Don’t get so defensive, boss. You know how greedy I am for information.” Minho smirked before backing away into his room. “If you hurt him, I won’t hesitate to spill. Goodnight, boss.”

 

Day 42 

 

The minute Changbin was two miles away from the mansion, he knew something was very, very wrong. From miles away, he could feel himself getting fed with nothing but pure and utter pain. His eyes were glowing so brightly he was burning holes into the window in front of him, and Changbin stepped on the gas so he drove even faster. The closer he got, the more his heart pumped and his brain yearned for the screams and pain. But his heart didn’t give into it.  _He couldn’t because he knew it was Felix_.

 

When he pulled up to the driveway, he didn’t bother shutting the car door or the front door. “Felix!” Changbin yelled, his booming, echoing voice shaking the walls around him. Changbin stayed quiet, listening for any sort of sobs, but Jisung came rushing down the stairs with bright honey eyes. He was about to rush out the door, but Changbin gripped him by the shoulders and eyed the excessive drool dripping from Jisung’s lips. “What’s going on? Is he hurt?” Changbin didn’t have to specify who he was talking about.

 

“He’s in his bathroom,” Jisung gurgled out before racing out of the house, everyone else flooding from different wings of the house with bright, neon eyes to follow in his footsteps. Changbin nodded and rushed up the stairs. Felix’s sobs bounced off of the walls and Changbin had to grip them tightly to stabilize himself. Changbin was practically light headed at this point, trying his best to contain himself and get Felix to safety instead of milking the pain from the human for his own pleasure. Changbin called out to Felix again, his tone a lot darker. The sobs stopped.

 

Changbin felt the heat in his blood fade enough to the point where he could walk properly. He managed to reach Felix’s bedroom and he could hear whimpers and the clanging of metal on tile from the open doorway. Changbin was hesitant to inch forward, his uncertainty of what he was about to see gnawing at his mind. If it was… horrid, there was no hard telling if Changbin could keep himself from hurting Felix further. “S-stay away!” Felix cried out from the bathroom, Changbin’s heart skipping a beat. But Changbin was so much stronger than Felix wished to be, and given the current situation, there was no way he was following that specific order.

 

Changbin inched forward, peering into the bathroom and choking on his own spit at the sight. Felix was curled up on the ground, blood dripping from his cut open wrists and a bloodied kitchen knife lying next to him. Felix hid his face away in his knees and had his arms wrapped loosely around his legs despite the pain of the pressure on his wounds. Changbin couldn’t muster up any words. He stepped forward until his knees were eye level with Felix, and the boy looked up in curiosity. Changbin was well dressed, his leather black shoes getting stained by the blood and making Felix curl up in on himself further. “P-Please get away!” Felix sobbed heavily into his knees. The sight of leather shoes and black suit pants was all too familiar.

 

Changbin went to gently tug Felix up but the younger flinched at the sudden movement, screeching and desperately begging ‘dad’ to not hurt him. “Angel, I’m not going to hurt you,” Changbin hushed, squatting down so he was looking straight into Felix’s swollen, red eyes. The elder had the nerve to reach his hands out and curl them around Felix’s bicep in hopes of getting him to relax, and once Felix seemed to realize that the man in front of him was not his father, a sob so broken Changbin felt it in his toes racked through Felix’s body and he collapsed into the floor.

 

Sighing, Changbin pivoted his body so he could lift Felix up onto his own two feet, twining an arm around Felix’s shoulders and tugging him into his chest to run his other hand through the younger’s sweaty hair. Felix just stood there, breathing in the smell of firewood and wild roses as his sobs began to fade into sniffles and suddenly, there was nothing. Felix felt as empty as the room he found upstairs. He felt as empty as the bottom of the ocean where no life could even dare to live. He felt as empty as a gas planet. There was nothing in the pits of Felix’s heart… and he hated it.

 

Warm arms hooked underneath Felix’s knees and armpits, his bony body being lifted in the air and Changbin carrying him up to the top floor and down the same hallway the empty room was. Felix began to squirm slightly, but Changbin was quick to dig his nails into the younger’s skin as a warning for him to cut it out. Felix was carried into a bedroom much like his but darker in theme. The ensuite bathroom had been the exact same situation, all of the white porcelain replaced by a black and the gold hardware silver. Changbin placed Felix on the sink countertop. “Stay here, angel.” It’s not as if Felix could really go anywhere; he could barely walk on his own two legs.

 

Changbin left the room for a moment, turning on the bathwater before he left and returning with a pile of sleep clothes not long after. Once the elder helped Felix back off of the counter and onto his own two feet, he ordered Felix to strip and get in the tub, turning his back to give the boy his privacy. “Ok,” Felix whispered after he got comfortable in the water, Changbin swiveling to see Felix in an upright fetal position, staring at the steaming water blankly. The elder rolled up his sleeves, revealing the symbols and lettering along his skin before tugging over a chair to sit by Felix’s head.

 

He poured a blob of shampoo into his hand and began to rub it into Felix’s hair once it was wet, massaging into his scalp and watching the tensity in his shoulders fade away. The situation, while intimate in couples, was entirely out of care. Changbin didn’t want to admit it to himself or anyone else, but it was obvious he hadn’t just been doing this to help ease the pain Felix was feeding them; he was doing this for Felix too. Changbin held a soft spot, whether he liked it or not. Felix was his angel, even if it had all been a bit ironic.

 

They sat there for a while, Changbin massaging the soap into Felix’s body and trying to get some of the knots out. When Felix was ready to get out, the water was left pink. Changbin turned his back so Felix could slip on the clothes, and the boy managed to do it without falling to the ground in the process. “So why’d you do this, hm?” Changbin hummed as he wrapped the bandages around Felix’s arms ten minutes later. They had successfully cleaned them, and luckily none of the cuts needed stitches, but there was no way he wasn’t going to take his eye off of Felix for a few days. Absolutely no way.

 

Felix just shrugged.

 

“Was it something one of us did?”

 

Felix shook his head.

 

“Was it something outside of the house?”

 

Felix nodded.

 

“...Was it your father?” Felix’s eyes squeezed shut, letting a few tears fall from them and track down his pale cheeks. Changbin’s hand came up to swipe them away gently. “He’s not here, angel.” Changbin had quite literally been the darkest man to ever exist and had done far worse things to more people, but Felix’s father was… a different story. Maybe it had been the fact that Changbin had been watching over Felix for years and years on end while keeping him alive that made him have such a hatred for his father, or maybe he was just sensible in what was right and what was wrong. Which gave Changbin a good chuckle when he really thought about it.

 

He didn’t pry any longer. He gave Felix a pat on the head before picking up his weak, sleepy body and tucking him into his bed. Felix subconsciously snuggled into the blankets and pillows, enjoying the warmth and the smell of firewood and wild roses. The same smell that reminded him of home and comfort. The smell that unknowingly belonged to the man who took him away from one nightmare and placed him into another.

 

Changbin stared at Felix fondly for a few moments, leaving the room not long after and turning the lights off. He was going to leave him be for the afternoon and let him sleep. He had far more important things to take care of. “I want you to find me Felix’s father and bring him to me,” Changbin hissed into the phone, Seungmin chuckling lowly on the other side of the line. “We’re gonna have fun tonight, Seungminnie,” Changbin smirked before hanging up and walking down the corridor and into the basement.

  
  


Felix’s father awoke with a start, arms chained to the ceiling and feet hovering above the floor. Pants and huffs of fear shakily escaped his lips and filled the air, a dark smirk rising on the peaks of Changbin’s lips at the sight. The room was pitch black, but Changbin could see right through it. However, he wanted this man to see him. He wanted him to see the man who was going to rip his heart out and feed it to him. The lights flickered on, revealing Changbin who was sitting in a chair in front of him, legs spread and elbows resting on his knees. “About time. Thought I was going to have to force you awake.”

 

The man stared at Changbin wide eyed, locking eyes with the golden ones the immortal harbored and feeling fear plunge into both his heart and mind. “W-who are you?” Changbin stood up, straightening his back and letting his eyes glow brightly, flicking his chin up. Felix’s father jolted, something within his body popping and dislocating with ease. The anger in Changbin’s eyes was clear. He stepped forward, really showing him the glow to his eyes and letting him look into the pits of the hell. “Y-You’re a monster!” Felix’s father thrashed in his chains, hoping to twitch free, but spikes released from the shackles around his wrist and pierced his skin. He let out a loud, ear piercing cream that made Changbin hungry for more.

 

“Oh, how right you are, but do you know who I am specifically?” Changbin hushed, gripping him by the face and digging his nails into the skin of his cheeks to keep him in place. Felix’s father gulped and shook his head. A haunting laugh echoed off of the walls, a laugh you would see in movies or in video games, but this laugh truly sent chills down your spine. “I’m the boss. You are looking into the eyes of Lucifer himself.” Felix’s father tried to flinch away, screaming curses after Changbin uttered the words, but Changbin only landed a firm slap across his face. “It’s time for your punishment, Mr. Lee.”

 

“I didn’t–” That was the last audible thing Mr. Lee would ever get to say, and it had been denial. Just as all the other times he denied not loving his wife and son, he denied having an affair with his receptionist, he denied his drinking problem, he denied that he was abusive, he denied that he was a horrible,  _horrible_  man.  Changbin snapped each of his fingers and dislocated his knee. However, he didn’t get to the real fun before Seungmin came waltzing in with a metal bat, wearing very familiar leather boots with spikes harboring very familiar blood.

 

“He’s awake and asking for you.”

 

Changbin sighed and turned back towards Mr. Lee for a moment, grabbing the bat and taking two swings at the man’s face, letting the spikes pierce his skin. He let out screeches and cries of pain as Changbin felt his anger shift away. “Have fun, hot head,” Changbin winked, letting the bat drop with a clang and leaving the room. Changbin shuddered in pleasure at the sound of the man’s screams and cries for help. It was undeniably satisfying. However, he had to pull himself together before he went up to his room to speak with Felix, so grabbed a sweet from the kitchen to calm himself down.

 

He knocked twice on the bedroom door before opening it and waltzing inside. Changbin nearly melted at the site of Felix sitting up in the middle of his bed, disheveled clothing and messy hair while cuddling into the fur blanket draped across him. “How you feeling?” Felix just shrugged, staring at the fur and playing with it softly. “Do you need anything?” Changbin’s voice was so soft, much softer than he had been expecting, and it made Felix open up a bit more. If only he knew that his father was in the basement getting tortured by Seungmin…

 

“A cupcake and Jeongin’s book would be nice…”

 

“Sure thing, angel.”

  


Day 45 

 

Felix was practically unresponsive to anything and everything. He felt too empty to care about the stories Jeongin tried to tell him or Jisung’s ramblings about food. Everything in him had been switched off, and he found himself in the corner of the empty room more often than not. Sometimes, he would work up enough energy to read a page or two of Jeongin’s book in the dark of the night, but most of the time, he was staring out the window and down at the dead courtyard. If there was one thing Felix felt, it was the yearning and want to go outside and breathe some proper air.

 

It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that the entire house had been ‘Felix proofed.’ Everything that could potentially harm him was stored away out of reach, but it’s not as if Felix went and actively searched for items. Sometimes, he did when the voices would eat away at his brain and convince him that he should try and end it again. But it was as if Changbin could read his thoughts because everytime he went searching, Changbin was there to derail him from his efforts and give him something else to do.

 

Changbin went back to his cold, emotionless ways pretty quickly, but his ways of keeping an eye on Felix didn’t go unnoticed. He acted as if Felix was still stuck in the cellar but with a bit of softness mixed within. Changbin showed his caring nature in very small ways that only Felix seemed to noticed. He’d make sure Felix ate at least two meals a day, had a shower every other day at the least, and didn’t fall asleep in the empty room. Felix had only slept in Changbin’s bed once, and in the back of his head, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back. The scent of firewood and wild roses practically dripped from the bed sheets, and it scared Felix to an extent.

 

The smell he had so desperately clung to during his time there was the smell of Changbin; it just didn’t quite settle well in the pit of his stomach.

 

Felix was in the corner of the empty room much like always when Minho came barging in, a bottle of hair dye in hand and a mischievous grin. “You up for a change, blossom?” he inquired with a raise of his eyebrows. Felix stared at the pale blonde man and the box for a moment before nodding his head. His heart didn’t flutter like Minho had hoped, but not all of it had been lost just yet. Minho was going to find a way for Felix to enjoy a few minutes of his day even if it was the last thing he’d do.

 

Minho cheered quietly before helping Felix onto his feet and dragging him down the hall and into his and Hyunjin’s shared room. The raven haired man had been curled up under the covers in bed with a book, looking as if he was going to fall asleep at any moment. “Hey, dollface,” Hyunjin croaked while waving sloppily. Felix twitched his lips up to offer him the best smile he could. Minho cracked an adoring smile at his boyfriend, letting go of Felix’s wrist briefly to bend down and place a sloppy kiss to the younger’s cheek. A blush rose on the pale of Hyunjin’s cheeks, but he didn’t let Minho get away so easily.

 

He grabbed for Minho’s wrist and jerked him back, dragging his fingers up to his lips to kiss them softly. It was a cute sight, really, but it only made Felix realize just how lonely he was. He had never had that with anyone. No one wanted it with him. The couple separated and Minho reattached himself to Felix before dragging them into the bathroom. “What are you doing?” Hyunjin called out from the bedroom in curiosity.

 

“Giving Felix a makeover!”

Hyunjin looked up from his book in confusion, even bothering to get up from the bed and join the two in the bathroom. Minho already had Felix sat in the fluffy red chair of Minho’s vanity and was grabbing the best brush he owned. “Dollface doesn’t need a makeover.” Hyunjin genuinely sounded a bit offended when saying it, earning a huff of amusement and a playful glint from Felix. Minho hummed in acknowledgement, brushing out the knots in Felix’s hair gently while stroking it with his other in a soothing manner.

 

“Just like I didn’t need one?” Minho inquired playfully, but there had been an undertone to it that Felix didn’t quite like. There was something within Minho that was much darker than he would have liked. Hyunjin padded over and wrapped Minho up into his chest to hold him close. They spoke in quiet whispers that Felix didn’t bother to listen to. He only stared down at the bandages wrapped around his arms. “Go on somewhere, handsome,” Minho ordered, shoving Hyunjin away with a grin.

 

“Don’t let him get too touchy–” Hyunjin whispered in Felix’s ears, but Minho began to shove him out of the room before shutting the door behind him. Felix merely chuckled breathily. It wasn’t long after Hyunjin was forced out that Minho began to rub the dye into Felix’s soft locks, humming a tune to himself that Felix didn’t recognize. He even went as far as to ask him what music he was humming, and Minho looked almost offended at the question.

 

“You mean to tell me... you’ve never listened to Got7?” Felix had heard about them from other classmates, but he hadn’t ever got the chance to actually sit down and listen to the group due to his homelife. Felix shook his head as an answer. Minho made a noise of disbelief before running into the bedroom. “Where are my speakers?” Minho called out, no doubt rustling through his drawers and making a mess. Eventually, Minho came running back in with his phone and a speaker before setting them down by the tub and playing ‘Teenager’ with a grin.

 

Minho seemed to be a more hyped after the music began playing, smirking to himself when he heard the familiar sound of drawn out footsteps and yawns enter his area of hearing and Chan peeped through the bathroom. “Really?” Chan grumbled, running a hair through his hair in hopes of taming it slightly. Minho shrugged innocently while Felix looked between the two in confusion. “Of all groups, you just had to wake me up from my nap with this one.” Felix wasn’t sure if there had been bad blood there or if this was just so regular that Chan was growing tired of it.

 

“Channie hyung and BamBam from Got7 had a thing.” Felix raised his eyebrows at Chan in surprise, who let a blush spread over his swollen cheeks. “He’s still a bit sensitive to it though.” Minho snickered as he spiked Felix’s hair up into a mohawk with a giggle. Felix smiled gently at the sight through the mirror. Chan groaned in irritation and flopped into the bathtub, curling up as if he were going to go to sleep, but he bobbed his head along to the music anyway.

 

“You know I just miss him…” Chan trailed off shamefully.

 

Minho sucked in a breath and nodded his head solemnly. He missed BamBam too. “I know, Channie Hyung. But you knew better than anyone that that wasn’t going to work out,” Minho sadly murmured, a soothing smile prepped on his lips in hopes of getting Chan to calm down. Felix was growing more and more confused by the second, blurting out why it couldn’t have worked. “Felix, honey… We’re not human… I thought you knew this,” Minho hushed, scraping his nails into his scalp and making sure the dye didn’t miss his roots.

 

Felix knew this. Of course he did. But hearing it for himself was different. “BamBam was human. He didn’t want to be like me but he promised to keep it a secret. I loved him, but there was no way we could be together,” Chan explained briefly, running his fingertips along the edges of the tub solemnly. Minho was quick to change the topic in hopes of lightening the mood, and it worked for the most part, because eventually, everyone was in Hyunho’s shared room and laughing. All except for one.

 

“How do you think Changbin is going to react to his hair?” Seungmin inquired in curiosity, running his fingers through the freshly dried, now icy bleached locks. Minho moved it around until it was how he wanted it and made sure the treatment was taking into effect before hoisting Felix into the air and locking arms. Felix really adored the new color; it felt like a breath of fresh air that he couldn’t quite have yet. The change was…  _nice_.

 

“That is why, my dear Seungminnie, we are going to go show him.” Felix froze but he couldn’t find the words to protest. He just let Minho drag him along like some sort of doll and took in the whistles and hollers of the other guys when his hair was revealed. “Yes, yes, it’s beautiful isn’t it? But I have more important things to do then to let you guys gawk,” Minho sassed before leaving the room with Felix’s wrist in his clutches. “Changbin is going to love it,” Minho whispered to himself quietly, oblivious to the fact that Felix had heard it and was weighing the idea in his head.

 

There was no way.

 

Eventually, they reached a door on one of the lower levels, Minho knocking against it lightly. “Boss? Can I come in?” Changbin grunted from the otherside. The elder merely rolled his eyes and shoved open the door, stepping inside without another word. From what Felix could see, it looked as if Changbin was crowded with stacks of paper and looked too stressed to function. In fear, Felix began to tug on the back of Minho’s shirt as a way of telling him to retreat, but Minho didn’t listen. Not at all. “I have a surprise for you,” Minho singsonged, Changbin staring back at him in pure and utter irritation.

 

“Make it quick, Lee–” Minho cut him off by shoving Felix out from behind him and towards Changbin, his bright but soft hair on show. Changbin’s shoulders relaxed and his palms seemed to curl slightly. “Oh.” He uttered, never tearing his eyes away from the bright head of hair or the dark, honey eyes Felix had been shyly averting away. Minho began to fire questions towards Changbin, asking for his opinion and Changbin struggled to form words. “It’s…  _nice_.” The word choice amused Felix to an extent but he didn’t show it.

 

“Nice? Nice! Come on, Changbin! I worked hard on this, give me something more than that!” Minho whined dramatically like a small child and Changbin had a hard time believing that Minho was in fact an adult and not a man child. The elder sighed and leaned back into his chair, staring at Felix for a lot longer than he probably should have. Changbin asked for a minute alone with the human, and Minho was way too close to pitching a fit right then and there. But then he realized that Felix could possibly get more out of this with some one on one time with Changbin and build that bond so he didn’t feel as uncomfortable here.

 

Minho left and closed the door with a soft click. “Come here,” Changbin ordered after a while, sitting up in his chair. Felix sucked in a harsh breath and walked forward, standing a foot away from Changbin’s feet. “He didn’t force you into this, did he?” Changbin mused, playfully. Felix shook his head. “Do you like it?” Felix thought about it for a moment. Did he? It was a nice change from the dark brown of his father. It seemed as if the light of his hair was supposed to lift him up, and Felix decided he did. He croaked out a small yes in reply.

 

The corners of Changbin’s lips twitched up slightly, and Felix’s heart warmed a little at the sight. Changbin gently grasped Felix’s hands and brought them up to his lips to let the thin pink skin brush against his knuckles. “I think it makes you look like an angel.” The words in all hadn’t been much to anyone else, but for Felix they were everything; even if he didn’t want to admit it. Changbin’s eyes caught on the bandages of his wrist and he gently ran his thumbs along the grooves. “How are you?” Changbin hushed, pressing the tiniest of kisses to both joints.

 

All Felix could do was shrug.

 

“Come to dinner tonight, okay? And don’t stay up too late.”

  


Day 51 

 

For once, Felix hadn’t been held up in the empty room. Instead, he was in the kitchen munching on a cupcake while sitting cross-legged on the counter with Jeongin’s book in his lap. Felix was almost halfway through at this point and he was proud of himself for making it so far. The human lacked motivation to do hardly anything, so knowing he could potentially finish this made Felix feel proud of himself. “Do you want another cupcake?” Eric asked as he iced the last of the cupcakes perfectly.

 

While cupcakes had become Felix’s favorite thing, he still had a very hard time consuming food, and just the idea of adding another to his stomach made it swirl in discomfort. “No. Thank you though,” Felix declined with a tiny smile before marking out a grammar mistake in Jeongin’s writing. “What are you making tonight?” Felix asked out of curiosity as he stared at the array of ingredients laid out on the island. Eric laughed to himself quietly as he began to boil water.

 

“It’s something new. I’m trying out a personal recipe, so let’s hope it doesn’t end up poisoning anyone.”

 

“You’re great aT cooking, I highly doubt you could manage to poison any of us,” Felix complimented, giggling at the blush that rose on the other’s cheeks. Eric had become a safe haven for Felix in a way. The man was normal and never made Felix feel any less than him in anyway. Not that the others did that, but they made a point out of the fact that they looked after Felix. And if he were completely honest with himself, Felix just wanted a friend, and Eric fulfilled that role.

 

“Thank you, Felix,” Eric murmured, chopping vegetables. Felix actually ended up helping Eric for the most part. All until Changbin came in and Eric was practically bowing to his feet. “Good afternoon, Mr. Seo,” Eric formally greeted as if he were some sort of robot, throwing Felix off completely. Changbin didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all as he locked eyes with the bleached haired boy.

 

“I’ve been looking for you. Come with me,” Changbin hushed, a complete contrast to the serious bitterness that normally laced into his tone. Felix furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t decline in any way. He merely shut Jeongin’s book and placed the pen on top, leaving it on the counter and following Changbin out of the kitchens. The two walked side by side, Changbin seemingly a bit nervous while Felix was too confused to be nervous. He didn’t think Changbin was going to hurt him, he knew better really. Changbin didn’t seem angry either.

 

The two reached a pair of glass doors Felix had walked by too many times and stopped to stare out of. He had debated turning the knob many times to escape into the courtyard for a few moment of fresh air, but that would have been idiotic of him. There were firm rules in place, and Felix didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he had broken them. Changbin pushed open the doors without another thought, walking out but stopping when he realized Felix wasn’t following. “Come on, angel.”

 

Changbin’s short coaxing had been enough for Felix. The human took a deep breath and stepped through the doors, releasing a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when nothing seemed to go off. So, it really wasn’t a trick. The deeper Felix walked into the courtyard to join Changbin’s side, the more it felt like he could breathe, and Felix could no longer hide the smile threatening to embrace his lips. The air was nice and cold, soothing to his raw throat, and it felt nice to have the breeze brushing against his cheeks.

 

Felix hadn’t realized he was standing there with his eyes closed until long fingers hooked around his and Felix’s eyes were urged to flutter open. He was met with the honey gold of Changbin’s iris’ and his heart  _swelled_. “I know you get bored in the mansion, and I see the way you look outside. I have a project for you that could benefit the both of us,” Changbin murmured, glancing around the courtyard and seeing all the overgrown brush now cleared away, giving Felix perfect access to the grounds. “I’m going to let you regrow the courtyard.”

 

The idea was dangerous on Changbin’s part. It had to be one of the dumbest things he’s ever decided to do, because he knew that the moment this garden began to show life and peek just as it did eras ago, Changbin would lose everything. He would weaken to the point of death, but it was worth it. Changbin didn’t know why he was willing to risk it all for the boy with the white aura and star like freckles, but he was, and nothing could sway him. Not even his own undoing.

 

“Really?” Felix’s voice broke. Changbin nodded his head with a gulp. Tears sprung to Felix’s eyes and he fell to his knees, letting the sobs ache in his chest and the tears gush down his cheeks. Felix didn’t know what he was feeling but all he knew was that he was overwhelmed and that things were going to be okay. “Oh, angel,” Changbin sighed, kneeling down to take Felix’s curled up figure into his chest and rub circles into his back soothingly. Felix sobbed out apologies over and over again along with thank yous and other words Changbin couldn’t quite make out. “It’s okay, angel. It’s going to be okay.”

  


Day 58 

 

Felix’s eyes were trained on the wall ahead, head resting against the wood of the floor. He was back in his corner, but instead of facing the rest of the room, he was lying on the floor, letting his knees touch his chest and his eyes burn from looking at the wall for too long. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and seeping into the crevices of his lips, but he didn’t tremble, shake, or sob. He just let them flow without anything added to it, and that was far more unsettling than the emptiness in his stomach.

 

Felix was at war with his mind. In the beginning, both of them knew that Changbin was here to make him suffer and feed off of it. But something changed between then and now, and Felix wanted to know what it was and why. Why did he have to fall for the living embodiment of Lucifer? Why did he have to make friends with his minions? Why did Felix feel right at home in that of a Devil’s house but still feel so different? Why was he still alive and why was he here, of all places; and why was Changbin so hell bent on making sure he was okay?

 

Changbin wasn’t supposed to care and Felix wasn’t supposed to fall. But here he was, falling for a man who had fed off of his fear and saved him from the only thing that would bring him happiness. But Changbin had shown him love and comfort. He showed him a home where Felix could be himself without worrying about getting hurt. Changbin gave Felix something he hadn’t had in a very long time: hope. But did it make up for who Changbin was and what he’d done? Felix didn’t know.

 

Felix wanted to believe that Changbin was there to love him. That Changbin had saved him from the hellish life he lived before. But as he laid there on the cold wood, he wasn’t too sure. In a way, he missed the cellar. It signified a much simpler time in his life. When Changbin was nothing more than the monster and the others were his food deliverers. As luxurious as this life was, Felix didn’t want it.

 

He wasn’t sure what compelled his body to get up and walk down the steps to the very bottom level, but Felix found himself stood outside a very familiar metal door, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood proud and tall. Whispers seeped from within the cracks, hitting Felix’s ears with soft breaths and nips. Felix couldn’t resist waiting any longer and opened the door to the other side. The room was dark but Felix searched along the wall for the light switch, and when he found it, he flicked it on with a sigh.

 

The room was empty. The floor and walls were stained with dry blood, and Felix swore it had been his own based on the bloodied corner of the room where Felix had taken refuge during Seungmin’s tantrum. Felix stood in the middle of the room, looking around the walls and inspecting every inch of it. He couldn’t explain the feeling coursing in his veins at the sight of it all. However, out of the corner of his eye, something glinted, and his head snapped so quickly it popped.

 

Felix winced and rubbed at the aching muscles in his neck as his eyes drifted upon a bronze key. Felix’s breath hitched in his throat, wondering it had been there the whole time or if it was left after Felix left. Either way, he reached down to grab it and stuff it in his pocket. Felix ended up falling asleep in the dark of the room that night, and Changbin would find him later, noticing that the key was now missing and it weighed heavily in Felix’s pocket.

 

A feeling of unsettlement bubbled in Changbin’s chest at the idea that Felix had finally found the key, but it was only a matter of time before Felix found out the truth and used it to his advantage. Changbin had already accepted his fate and for now, he would take Felix up to his bedroom and tuck him into the sweet embrace of firewood and wild flowers until that time came. Changbin was going to enjoy the time he had left, because there was no telling what could happen in a few weeks.

 

Day 59 

 

Felix’s body slowly came back into that of the real world, nose buried in familiar black sheets that smelled of home. His arms tightened around the pillow underneath him so the cushion was enclosing his face and cushioning his cheeks. Felix’s shoulders relaxed back into the mattress as his mind tried to fade back into the idea of sleep, but something inside was keeping him awake and he wasn’t sure why. He was warm and cozy, his body surrounded by a fort of pillows and a soft blanket draped over him gently. Not to mention the smell made Felix’s heart rest at a much easier pace than it does normally.

 

So, the reason as to why he was awake was rather peculiar. There weren’t any loud noises keeping him awake or the smell of food, but instead there was a presence in the room that Felix couldn’t ignore for very long. It was when Felix turned his head to breathe a little more clearly and his eyes flickered open that he noticed that he was back in Changbin’s room and the man had been sitting in the corner with messy hair and a notebook in hand. A pen hung from his mouth as his eyes scanned the words on the page, and the site made Felix’s heart beat wildly.

 

Felix just watched him for a while, enjoying the fact that Changbin seemed to be the most vulnerable at that certain time than he had his entire life. He felt as though he wasn’t seeing the devil himself but the vessel he has taken for this lifetime, and it made Felix feel a warmth in the pit of his stomach. “Hyung…” Felix croaked out after a while, voice groggy with sleep. Changbin snapped his head up to meet the younger’s sleepy gaze and squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. This was wrong.

 

“You’re up early,” Changbin hushed, flickering his gold eyes back down to the notebook in his lap to keep the foreign feelings in his stomach from swirling too much. Felix breathed a little sharper in amusement before sitting up and running a hand through his hair. Felix had never gotten a proper look around the room the first time he stayed there. He had gotten out as soon as he woke up out of complete and utter fear, but now as he looked around, he could feel Changbin dripping from the ceilings all the way to the floor.

 

The floors were a dark wood, almost as black as the paper on the walls, and multiple bookshelves were scattered about with not only novels but records as well. Changbin seemed like the kind of guy to collect records as he’s lived over the last few centuries, so it didn’t surprise Felix all that much. He wasn’t sure why the room being full of collectables was so odd for Felix; maybe he had expected Changbin to live in an empty room that wasn’t much of anything because Changbin wasn’t human, but he didn’t dwell on it too much.

 

He wasn’t sure if he had the energy.

 

Felix let his body fling back onto the mattress with a huff, his arms out as if he were surrendering and the bed bouncing underneath him. Changbin didn’t pay him any mind. Felix began to shift and turn out of boredom, just wanting to talk to someone but not having the nerve to say anything to Changbin. Eventually, Felix ended back on his side, staring the elder down as if he were a child waiting for an answer from their parents about having an extra cookie. “What is it, angel?” Changbin sighed after a while, sensing his stare.

 

A pout managed to worm it’s way onto Felix’s lips. “What are you doing?” he drawled, drawing small shapes into the sheets underneath him. Changbin flickered his eyes up and immediately regretted it afterwards. Felix looked so small and innocent, and the only thing flashing in Changbin’s head was the boy’s childhood. Every little bit of it. Changbin knew what was to come, so why was he sitting here trying to avoid it? He hoped that something else would flicker in the world and it wouldn’t end the way it was supposed to.

 

“Work.”

 

“What kind of work?”

 

“Useful work.”

 

“What kind of useful work?” Changbin snorted, shaking his head at Felix’s childish ways and gently closing the book in his lap. He placed it on the table beside him along with the pen before getting up from the comfy looking chair to approach the edge of the bed. Felix shrunk back slightly at the approaching man but didn’t outwardly show any sort of fear. Not until he locked onto the shining gold eyes of Changbin and something pumped heavily in his chest, and he wasn’t entirely sure if it was his heart or not.

 

“You’re very childish, angel.” The softness to his tone practically had Felix melting into the mattress beneath him with a blush to his cheeks and muttering out barely audible apologies. Changbin’s hands stroked at the pillow Felix had his arms wrapped around, his fingertips nudging his wrist gently. “Don’t apologize,” Changbin murmured with a twitch of his lips before patting his hand. “Go on. Go do something. Entertain yourself.” Changbin shooed Felix out of the room and he was left standing outside the door with a frown.

 

Felix wasn’t so sure what he could do until he put his hands in his pockets and his fingertips grazed the bronzed key weighing them down. It felt like the entire world stopped when his hands reached the metal; the leaves outside stopped shifting, the squirrels in the grass stopped in their tracks, and everything became dull. As far as Felix could remember, this hadn’t happened the night before and suddenly, everything hit him at once. Felix fell asleep in the cell. Felix woke up in Changbin’s bed… Oh no.

 

Why didn’t Changbin question him? Why did Changbin just brush it aside? Shivers began to travel down his spine at the idea of the elder talking about it later with him. Felix knew Changbin held a terrible temper, and knowing he could get a genuine taste of it scared him shitless. Felix let go of the key and everything went back to normal. The lights twitched, the chandeliers swung and the leaves swayed. Felix gripped the key once more, everything stopping, and he didn’t let it go. Not even once.

 

Felix scoured the mansion, trying every locked door he could find, but the key just didn’t seem to fit. He was getting restless, and eventually he ended up back in the empty room. Felix hadn’t realized it then, but the key made him see so much more than an average eye could, and a false wall in the room caught his attention quicker than a red apple in a white room. Felix approached the wall with his hand out and he pressed against it gently, the cracks glowing brightly as it shifted forward and opened just enough for Felix to slip through.

 

Abandonment seemed to be the first thought to seep into Felix’s vulnerable, fuzzy brain. The room he was in was abnormally bright for only one window near the roof of the room, but Felix was rather mesmerized by the rays of light shining along the wood flooring. His eyes drifted across the room and the multiple things inside that were covered by white, dusty fabric. Felix grazed his fingers along the fabric, and it was then that Felix noticed the vine greenery growing along the walls, producing black buds that practically seeped death itself.

 

Felix felt vulnerable underneath the dark of the roses, backing away from them with a shiver coursing down his spine. However, he didn’t leave the room. He was far too curious. He wanted to know what this was, why it was here, and why Felix was stuck in this time paradox where more things existed than what meets the eye. He was far too curious for his own good, so he wasn’t that shocked at himself when he started to remove the fabric one by one. Once everything had been removed, Felix decided that this had been some sort of common room long forgotten by those who once used it.

 

Multiple pictures leaned against the walls in stacks and Felix soon realized that they were all pictures of the other eight men, all from different time periods. The sight of Minho dressed in Victorian clothes with jewelry lining his body made Felix giggle to an extent, because Minho’s love for material items hadn’t changed even slightly over the years. But it was hard for him to comprehend that they’ve been around for that long, probably even longer as well. It played with his head more than he’d ever like to admit.

 

At the very back of the room, there was a book. It was thick and obviously worn, but it laid on a table as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Felix approached it with caution, scared as to what could possibly be inside, but as the famous saying goes, ‘curiosity killed the cat.’ His fingers grazed the spine of the thick book in anticipation, flipping it open without another thought and stared in confusion. The pages were blank. Felix flipped through in hopes of maybe there being something he could get some sort of clue from, but nothing was offered up. Not until he reached the last page of the book anyway.

 

His neck snapped back, eyes going a pearly white as his body slowly levitated in the air. Wisps of both dark and light shot out from the middle of the book and swirled around each other, fighting for dominance. Soon, all Felix could see was the flashing of black and white before the cold, snow white wisps entered through his mouth and twined around his heart. Whimpers and cries echoed off of the walls as Felix’s head filled with awful, awful scenes. Scenes between him and Changbin. Too close for comfort.

 

_“Changbin! Come look at the flowers! Aren’t they gorgeous?” Felix gasped excitedly, rushing into Changbin’s office to drag him out into the courtyard. Changbin tried to protest, tugging away from Felix’s grip, but the younger didn’t seem to let up. Changbin’s eyes were blown wide in fear, seeing the beautiful array of colors come closer and closer until he was thrown out through the door and his feet landed him right in the very middle._

 

_Changbin couldn’t breathe, clutching his chest tightly as he looked around and saw nothing but white, orange and red. Blood began to cough up from the depths of his throat, Changbin falling to his knees before he could even realize what was going on. Felix was screaming, crying, begging for Changbin to get back up. He yelled out for help, but no one was there. Everyone seemed to disappear. “Angel…” Changbin coughed up violently, eyes shining brightly. Felix fell to his knees to inspect Changbin, shakily wiping away the blood dripping from his lips but dodging the dangerous gold of his eyes. “Angel, go.”_

 

_Felix stared at Changbin in shock, shaking his head. “Angel! Go!” Changbin grunted out, feeling his heart pump at concerning speeds and self control slowly spiral downwards, “I’m losing it. GO!” Changbin screeched, shoving Felix away and sending him flying towards the doors and crashing through them roughly. The human’s body slid across the glass covered ground, Felix curling up in on himself in pain. A loud roar was heard from the courtyard, shaking the earth beneath him as Changbin lost himself._

 

_Bloody, black skeleton wings sprouted from his back as he flew up into the air, eyes no longer gold but a pitch black. His skin was covered in glowing inked symbols, and his face was pulled into a snarl. Felix stared at Changbin in fear, shock coursing through him but not making a direct impact. Felix knew who Changbin was, what his role was in the world, but seeing it in person was something that Felix never thought he’d witness. This man in front of him, the man he had grown attached to, was Lucifer himself, and nothing could change that._

 

_“Changbin…” Felix whispered when Changbin came barreling towards him. Felix instinctively gripped the key hanging around his neck and everything stopped. Changbin was a few feet in front of him, staring down at him with such anger in his eyes. But it was uncontrollable, not real. That anger was not towards Felix, but the peace and light within him. Felix whimpered lowly as the wisps of light began to creep out through his pores and surround Changbin’s dark figure. “I’m so sorry.” Felix whimpered as the time paradox around him cracked and they were thrown back into reality._

 

_Changbin fell to the ground, limp against the grass as he stared up at the sky, gold eyes slowly fading into nothing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this to happen,” Felix cried, running his palms along the man’s face and kissing his skin softly._

 

_“It’s okay, angel.”_

  


Felix fell to the ground with a cry, holding the key close to his heart as sobs racked his bones. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want the burden of such a thing. He didn’t want to kill Changbin. He wasn’t sure he could. Felix whimpered and stumbled through the door, releasing the key from his grip and into his pocket once he was in the empty room. It wasn’t long before Changbin came running in at the sound of Felix’s loud cries, immediately falling to his knees to wrap the human up in his arms. “Angel? Angel, what’s wrong? Talk to me,” Changbin coaxed calmly, wiping away the gushing tears from Felix’s eyes.

 

Felix let out a loud war cry as he through the key at the wall. “I don’t want it!” A silence fell over them as the key crashed to the ground with a clang, Changbin staring at it. He knew it was only a matter of time, but he didn’t know it would be so soon.  “I don’t want it! I don’t want that burden! I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to kill you! I don’t want to be without you…” The last one was quiet, barely audible, and Changbin felt his heart sink to his stomach. Changbin gently released Felix to walk over to the key, picking it up and staring at it for a moment. It no longer worked for him or the others. It chose Felix, whether they liked it or not.

 

Changbin sat back down on the ground next to Felix, tugging the taller into his lap and placing his hands on the boys lower back. “It chose you, Felix. It chose you a very long time ago. I’ve been seeing this for centuries, and when I found out you had finally been born, I selfishly tried my best to make sure you suffered. I turned your family against you in hopes of twisting fate around and living a lot longer,” Changbin confessed, “But I realized soon enough that this was going to happen no matter what. We can’t change it, angel. It’s been written in the webs of fate, and not even the Devil can change it.”

 

Felix processed the information given to him. All of the shit he went through over the years… Was because of Changbin. It was all Changbin’s fault. “You bastard!” Felix screeched, knocking his fists against the man’s chest over and over again, letting out curses and cries that didn’t make sense the more they went on. Changbin just took it, holding Felix securely. “All that shit was because of you! I went through years of pain for you! I’m emotionally broken, suicidal, and scarred and it’s all because of you!” Changbin didn’t want to hear it, but he knew he had to. He knew what he did to Felix.  _God, he knew._

 

“I know, angel. I’m so sorry.”

 

Felix weakly slumped into Changbin’s body, staring out the window and out into the horizon. “Sorry doesn’t make up for it,” Felix bitterly whispered but didn’t try and push himself away. As awful as it sounded, he needed Changbin right now. Changbin was the only one who was going to help him clear his head, even if he was the reason it was clouded in the first place. Because no matter how wrong it was and how much shit Changbin has put him through, Felix cared for Changbin. He was infatuated with him in a way he couldn’t put into words.

 

“I know,” Changbin whispered into Felix’s hair, kissing it lightly. “Sorry doesn’t make up for anything I’ve done.” Felix didn’t argue or agree. He didn’t do anything. He just rested in Changbin’s arms weakly. Changbin sighed and summoned a bronze chain into his hand, threading it through the keyhole behind Felix’s back before moving away to slip it over his head. “We can’t stop fate, Felix,” Changbin hushed, stroking his thumb along the boy’s jawline, pressing a light kiss underneath the human’s ear.

 

Felix’s neck felt heavy, and it wasn’t the literal weight of it; it was the weight of the situation. He was wearing the weapon he would use against Changbin in the future to kill him around his neck and he hated it.

 

_Felix didn’t want this._

 

Day 63 

 

Felix had been staying in Changbin’s room ever since he’d found the book, not wanting to be alone and miss any remaining time left with the elder. Nothing had really been confirmed between the two, but it was pretty clear that something was there. There was a connection that they couldn’t fight because it wouldn’t be around for much longer so they milked it dry. Felix didn’t mind too much though; Changbin had been absolutely spoiling him in hopes of bringing up the solemn mood between the two.

 

The moon was high in the sky, the clock reading 3:12 in the morning, and Felix was about ready to commit ten murders when he woke up and Changbin was nowhere to be found. It didn’t take him long to stumble out of bed in nothing but a pair of loose basketball shorts and Changbin’s oversized button up and go looking for him. It was almost as if Felix knew exactly where he was when his body was dragged towards the empty room a few doors downs. There, in the middle of the room staring out the window was Changbin. “Why are you up?” Felix whispered from the doorway, trying not to startle the elder.

 

Changbin turned towards Felix for a split second before flickering his attention back to the forest ahead. “Do you feel for me?” The question was too deep for so late at night and a barely awake Felix, but he couldn’t exactly ignore it. The time didn’t call for it. So, Felix tried his best to wake himself from the sleepy daze he was stuck in and think of an answer. Of course Felix did, but would Changbin believe his words? No. So, Felix stepped forward and nuzzled his face into the back of the elder’s neck and twining his arms around his waist. Changbin relaxed into him and kissed the side of the boy’s face that he could reach with a pivot of his neck.

 

“Of course I do. It’s a bit odd, yes, but I do.” Felix whispered after a while, kissing the back of Changbin’s neck softly. Changbin turned around in the younger’s arms and cupped his cheeks hesitantly. He didn’t want to startle the human when he had a completely innocent motivation. He stroked along Felix’s cheekbones with a fond smile, tilting his head to press a wet kiss to his hairline. “We don’t have long. My dragon’s breath is beginning to spread.” Felix informed, a pout to his lips.

 

“Then let’s make the most of the little time we have left, angel,” Changbin murmured and guided them back to the bedroom, intertwining their bodies underneath the black covers and letting themselves embrace and drink in the other. “Why did it have to be you, hm? Why does it have to be you that makes my heart stumble?” Changbin whispered into the top of Felix’s head, thinking that the younger was long lost into the intoxicating state of slumber. “You’re a literal angel. I hope you realize that soon.”

 

It was rather amusing really. Because Felix was awake the entire time.

 

Day 68 

 

The red and orange flowers stared Felix down into his very soul, mocking him as their buds slowly but surely bloomed. His garden was reaching its peak, and any day now would be the day. Felix had tried to completely abandon the garden as a whole, but Changbin had insisted that he keep going. Time must go on, as much as both Felix and Changbin dreaded it with every fiber of their being.

 

The words Changbin had whispered to him in the dead of night a few days ago lingered in the back of Felix’s head. Was Felix really an angel? Is that he was here? Is that why he hasn’t been able to die? Was he already dead? The questions just kept coming and coming, Felix unable to stop them from flowing. Felix had become so invested in his thoughts that he didn’t realize the water was pooling at the bottom of the garden and he quickly flung the water away, staring at it shamefully.

 

Felix felt like he was about to burst into tears and all he wanted to do was crawl up in Changbin’s lap and feel safe, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Changbin was working at the time and Felix didn’t have the right to bother him right now. The elder was stressed beyond belief and had given Felix strict orders to not bother him during the time. So who was Felix going to bother? The others of course.

 

Normally at this time, they’re messing around in the library, sharing stories and goofing around, so Felix decided that that had been his best bet. And he had been right because the closer he got, the louder the laughs and talking got, but Felix’s nerves hadn’t calmed in the slightest. Changbin had confirmed that the others didn’t know about what was going to happen in just a few short days and that there would be no harm done to them either. When Changbin died, their souls would be released from their evil and they could live the rest of their lives in the vessel they’re in now, much to Felix’s relief.

 

But Felix wished he could talk to them about this. He wanted them to know that their friend was going to die, but Changbin told him not to. It would alter things and just make everything worse in the long run. “Felix!” Seungmin cheered loudly, throwing his deck of cards onto the table and raising his hands in the air. Felix waved shyly at everyone before joining a sleepy Chan on the bean bags and cuddling into his side. Chan was always so warm. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while,” Seungmin pouted, everyone humming in agreement as Felix bit down on his tongue to keep anything from slipping.

 

“Really? I’ve been sleeping a lot I guess,” Felix improvised sloppily, everyone giving him disapproving looks.

 

“You sure?” Felix nodded. “So you’re absolutely sure it has nothing to do with Changbin hyung?” Hyunjin smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as Minho eyed Felix in anticipation. Felix froze. Did they know something? “Oh don’t freeze up! We see how much time you guys spend together. How long? Have you kissed yet?” Minho fired question after question as the rest just giggled at Minho’s greed for information. Felix felt like he was about to be sick.

 

“What are you guys screaming about?” A rough voice called from the doorway. Changbin was leaning against the arches, rubbing his fingers against his temples to soothe his headache and lightheadedness. Changbin was growing weaker, and Felix was growing concerned. The younger stepped forward and gently replaced Changbin’s fingers with his own, rubbing softly. Changbin made a noise of content as the other seven boys stared at the pair with wide eyes. They hadn’t expected to see such a display of affection, nor did they expect Felix to go following Changbin out of the room and back down the hallway.

 

Now, the two were on the couch, Changbin’s head in his lap and Felix’s finger’s massaging into his temples just like before. “How much longer?” Changbin croaked after a while, sounding parched and a lot weaker than he had intended to. Felix sighed and stopped his rubbing for a moment, not really wanting to talk about this. “Please, angel?” Changbin sounded so vulnerable, Felix couldn’t resist him.

 

“A week at most. But I have a feeling it’ll be a lot earlier than that.”

 

“Until then, angel.”

 

And a soft kiss was exchanged.

 

Day 73 

 

The day had come too quickly. The flowers were ripe and the last of his white roses had bloomed and were ready for wilting. It was only a matter of time. Felix tried to keep himself planted in the garden, and tried to keep himself from bawling his eyes out right then and there, but he let a few tears slip from his eyes before getting into character. The sun had set in the sky, the trees were looming over the grass, and it was gorgeous. The courtyard was absolutely gorgeous. Despite everything, Felix had gotten excited and ran into the house.

 

“Changbin! Come look at the flowers! Aren’t they gorgeous?” Felix gasped excitedly, rushing into Changbin’s office to drag him out into the courtyard. He didn’t want this. Changbin tried to protest, tugging away from Felix’s grip, but the younger didn’t seem to let up. Changbin’s eyes were blown wide in fear, seeing the beautiful array of colors come closer and closer until he was thrown out through the door and his feet landed him right in the very middle. They could see what was happening. They were giving into the characters fate had created.

 

Changbin couldn’t breathe, clutching his chest tightly as he looked around and saw nothing but white, orange and red. It was too familiar. Blood began to cough up from the depths of his throat, Changbin falling to his knees before he could even realize what was going on. Felix was screaming, crying, begging for Changbin to get back up. Felix didn’t want this! He yelled out for help, but no one was there. Everyone seemed to disappear. “Angel…” Changbin coughed up violently, eyes shining brightly. Felix fell to his knees to inspect Changbin, shakily wiping away the blood dripping from his lips but dodging the dangerous gold of his eyes. “Angel, go.”

 

Felix stared at Changbin in shock, shaking his head. “Angel! Go!” Changbin grunted out, feeling his heart pump at concerning speeds and self control slowly spiral downwards. “I’m losing it. GO!” Changbin screeched, shoving Felix away and sending him flying towards the doors and crashing through them roughly. The human’s body slid across the glass covered ground, Felix curling up in on himself in pain. A loud roar was heard from the courtyard, shaking the earth beneath him as Changbin lost himself.

 

Bloody, black skeleton wings sprouted from his back as he flew up into the air, eyes no longer gold but a pitch black. His skin was covered in glowing inked symbols and his face was pulled into a snarl. Felix stared at Changbin in fear, shock coursing through him but not making a direct impact. Felix knew who Changbin was, what his role was in the world, but seeing it in person was something that Felix never thought he’d witness. This man in front of him, the man he had grown attached to, was Lucifer himself, and nothing could change that.

 

“Changbin…” Felix whispered when Changbin came barreling towards him. Felix instinctively gripped the key hanging around his neck and everything stopped. Changbin was a few feet in front of him, staring down at him with such anger in his eyes. But it was uncontrollable, not real. That anger was not towards Felix, but the peace and light within him. Felix whimpered lowly as the wisps of light began to creep out through his pores and surround Changbin’s dark figure. “I’m so sorry,” Felix whimpered as the time paradox around him cracked and they were thrown back into reality.

 

Changbin fell to the ground, limp against the grass as he stared up at the sky, gold eyes slowly fading into nothing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this to happen,” Felix cried, running his palms along the man’s face and kissing his skin softly.

 

“It’s okay, angel.”

  


It took exactly 73 days for Seo Changbin to realize that Lee Felix had a soul of purity; a soul so innocent and gentle it could kill the darkest of beings. 

 

Which just so happened to be Changbin himself. 

  


5 years later 

 

Felix settled down after running out of the forest that day. He found a place to stay in the city where he couldn’t be found by anyone he didn’t want to be found by, and he made a life of his own. Just as Changbin had trained him to do. Felix still kept the key around his neck at all times, clutching it occasionally to let time stop and allow him to breathe. Despite now being out of the clutches of the Devil himself, a part of Felix still felt stressed at all times. He managed to go to university despite never graduating high school and got a business degree so he could run a plant shop near the heart of town.

 

He enjoyed his life for the most part. He never found anyone after Changbin, he didn’t find the time for it, nor did he want anything. Felix had come to terms with the fact that he would much rather be alone or with Changbin than to be with someone he didn’t truly love. The only person that owned a part of Felix was Changbin, and nothing could quite change that. It was bitter sweet, really. But Felix didn’t mind too much. He was content with his shop and the two cats he had adopted off of the street.

 

Felix keeps his hair bleached in memory of Changbin and his role as ‘the angel,’ but it was all just a matter of symbolism over everything. His next door neighbor swears his hair is going to fall out, but even if it did, Felix would get a wig and keep on as if nothing happened. It’s just who he was as a person now. He appreciates that his neighbor voices her concerns without being a bitch about it though; that’s hard to find now a days.

 

The shop had provided Felix with more than just comfort or something to do. It provided him closure. At one point or another, all of the guys had walked in and greeted Felix as if they were old best friends, Changbin never coming up in the conversation. Felix wondered if they had forgotten about him when they were released from their spell. But when the human saw a picture of Chan and Changbin as Chan’s lockscreen, he realized everyone was still mourning and didn’t want to bring up such a touchy subject.

 

Felix couldn’t blame them.

 

Felix had grown and matured well over the years, but he’s grown bitter. He’s blunt and brutally honest to the point where some people have stopped talking to him as a whole, but Felix was so used to being alone that he didn’t care. The days people stormed out in anger were normal days for him, and he had hoped one day in particular would be no different. It was the five year anniversary date of Changbin’s death, and the shop had been closed for the day so Felix could breathe and clear his head.

 

On the anniversary dates, Felix spent a week in the time paradox held within the key around his neck. It wasn’t healthy really, but Felix would find himself aimlessly wandering the world during that time much like he did the streets before Changbin found him. He hadn’t realized it at the time, but Felix had been doing it for a reason. He was doing it in hopes of Changbin finding him once more, as sad as it may be, instead of using it for alone time or mourning. Everything Felix did was tied to Changbin.

 

Felix had been spinning the key between his fingertips as he stared at the bronze shine brightly underneath the dull light of the shop, boredom clear on his expressions. Both of his cats jumped onto the counter at the same time, one pitch black and the other pure white. Felix thought it was a bit cute that it had turned out that way, because the two cats were practically inseparable. The white one purred loudly as he nuzzled against the hand that rested on the counter while the black one began to swat at the key playfully. A soft smile reached Felix’s lips.

 

The front door opened and Felix didn’t even look up from his cats. He didn’t see the point. If the customer needed him, they would let him know. However, when Felix didn’t hear any footsteps walking around the shop, he got curious and looked up, freezing as if he were a block of ice. “You still look like an angel… I’m starting to think you can’t age,” Felix let out a cry, letting his first tear fall for the first time in a little over four years and he felt like he was going to collapse on the ground any minute.

 

Changbin was standing in the middle of his shop, pink skin and dark eyes no longer laced with gold. Felix didn’t want to believe it until he could touch him; he was convinced this was some sort of sick joke. “Is this… Is this real?” Felix whimpered, reaching his hand out to touch Changbin but dropping it at the last minute. Changbin laughed softly, sounding a lot lighter in tone, and Felix’s heart swelled. No words were exchanged as Changbin reached over to grasp Felix’s hand in his own and bring it to his lips gently.

 

“Yeah… I’m free, angel. I’m alive and  _human_ .”  Felix smashed their lips together painfully, teeth clashing and too much spit being exchanged between the two, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t care. Changbin was here, alive and well, and in his arms. Changbin was  _human_. They could practice their kissing if needed in the future. But for now, they would live in the moment. “I love you, angel,” Changbin hushed once they pulled away, breathless and foreheads rested against one another. Felix let out a blissful laugh, a wide smile on his face that made Changbin’s heart skip a beat.

 

“Only took you 5 years and 73 days…”

 

Changbin’s role in Felix’s life was crucial in every way. Their story could be deemed as toxic and wrong, and in every way possible, it was. Changbin had tortured Felix to the point of permanent mental damage and made him go through things that no one should have to. But Felix fell for him because Changbin made him feel loved, as fucked as it might have been. Either way, Changbin had awoken from this dark haze he’s lived his entire life and deeply cared for Felix and was willing to help him get better.

 

Felix still had a long road to go. He was still broken from the childhood he suffered through, but with Changbin here and willing to be a support beam for the younger, he had hope that maybe one day he would recover from the whispers in his head and his harmful tendencies. Felix will always struggle with his inner demons, but with Changbin by his side, maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to fight them off.

 

But for now, he was here, in his run down flower shop with the only man who owns his heart, and for the first time in a very long time… Felix was content.

 

[Moodboard](https://twitter.com/atumun15/status/995054605871534080)


End file.
